Jalen Brunson is one of the best players in Villanova basketball history, writes Gabriela Carroll for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
He led the Wildcats to two national titles and was named National Player of the Year in 2018.
Even so, Brunson has had trouble convincing NBA teams of his potential.
Now with the New York Knicks, he’s become one of the league’s best point guards.
But the doubts continue. Las Vegas Aces head coach and former San Antonio Spurs assistant Becky Hammon said Brunson, at 6-foot-2, is too small to be a top-scoring option on a championship team.
“If your best player is small, you’re not winning,” she said on ESPN’s “NBA Today.” “I love Jalen Brunson, but you’re going to put him on the level of a 1A?”
The Knicks see it differently, believing he’s the exception to the size rule.
“People are gonna say stupid [expletive] all they want,” said Brunson’s Villanova and Knicks teammate Josh Hart.
Brunson doesn’t care what people say. He cares about winning, Hart added.
On Christmas Day, Brunson dropped 38 points for the Knicks with six assists and no turnovers against 1A Bucks players for a 129-122 win.
Find out Jalen Brunson’s reaction to what people are saying in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
