In order to be able to win an O'Brien Cup, it not only requires the efforts of the players, but also the operation of the team management is crucial, some teams with frequent tricks are difficult to cross the threshold of the playoffs, the "God of Basketball" Jordan has achieved outstanding achievements in his career, 6 championships in hand, after becoming the owner of the Bobcat (Hornets), the team has missed the playoffs for 10 years in 13 years, and has been competing for the top pick for a short time.
Some teams have a large amount of "spending" on salary or draft picks, but the team's performance and chemistry are difficult to meet expectations, and even play struggling, this season's Clippers and Suns are like this, some teams let go of excellent "combat power" because of their contempt for players, and can only watch other teams that are decisive and resolute take away high-quality players and make great strides on the road to the championship, 47 points! 44 points! was punished by the league and signed him, and now he is aiming for the championship, and 104 million in 4 years is too worthwhile.
What turned the tide for the team was the "older" second-round pick who was rejected twice to renew his contract
Participating in the NBA Draft in 2018, Brunson was not picked by the Mavericks until the 33rd overall pick in the second round, before that, his teammates at Villanova University, Mikal Bridges, DiVincenzo were drafted with the 10th and 17th picks in the first round, respectively, and another teammate Hart also became a first-round pick in the NBA Draft the previous year, and was picked by the Jazz with the 30th pick in the first round.
Brunson has topped the U19 Men's Basketball World Cup MVP, was once the All-American college player, was selected to the All-American Team many times, won the John Wooden Award and other honors, but became a second-round pick.
And with the Mavericks, Brunson hit a nail in the negotiations twice after he reached a point in the league where he could talk to the team about a contract extension. The agent told Brunson that he deserved a bigger contract, but Brunson's proposed contract didn't change, which was a four-year, $55 million contract extension, only to be rejected, and when we talked again, we only got the same "see, we'll consider it" reply.
In the 2022 playoffs, the Mavericks saw for themselves that the player they twice refused to renew his contract early with was extending the season for the team. In the first round of the series between the Mavericks and the Jazz, the Mavericks' main backcourt Doncic missed the first three games of the series due to injury, in this case, most of the outside world thought that it was only a matter of time before the Mavericks were eliminated by the strong Jazz, and Brunson's strong play allowed the Mavericks to take a 2-1 lead in the overall score after the first three games.
Not only did G2 and G3 have a team-high 41 points and 31 points, but also Brunson's calm and decisive on the court, big heart play, series G6, Jazz is already "back to the cliff", they are about to be eliminated if they lose after falling behind 2-3 in total, which stimulates their fighting spirit, and the Mavericks are entangled all over the court, and the two sides bite the score until the last moment.
In the last 48 seconds to 11 seconds of the game, Doncic missed the basket on both shots, and the Jazz took the opportunity to narrow the gap to only 1 point, and in the next defensive round, Brunson sensitively found the pitcher Bojan Bogdanovic who was missed by his teammates when he retreated, blocking the ball that could pass to him, and the experienced Conley dribbled to the basket and forced a pass to Bojan instead of making a walking error, and the Mavericks regained possession of the ball and finally won the game.
In his own way, Brunson helped the Mavericks eliminate the Jazz and Suns successively, allowing the Mavericks to return to the Western Conference finals after 11 years, but his days in Dallas have also entered the countdown.
Knicks 104 million contract brings back new "King of New York"
In the 2022 offseason, Brunson tested the waters of the free market, and he was chased by many teams in the league, and the Knicks firmly handed Brunson a four-year, $104 million contract, bringing him back to New York. Later reports showed that the Knicks made a lot of efforts to secure Brunson, and they started reaching out to Brunson early on, which led to a violation and was fined a second-round pick by the league.
Brunson finally became a member of the Knicks, but there were still many doubts at that time, after all, he was a small point guard who had never made the All-Star, could he be worth $104 million in 4 years? As it turned out, he was worth it.
Brunson, who was given the main control position in the "Big Apple", handed over an average of 24 points, 3.5 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game in the 2022-23 season, with a three-point shooting rate of 41.6%, and the average scoring assists and three-point shooting percentage per game set a new career high at that time, helping the Knicks to achieve 47 wins in the regular season for the first time in 10 years, with a winning rate of 57.3%.
The rise of another excellent point guard in the West has been noted, Fox won the first "Best Key Player Award" in league history, and Brunson also performed quite well in the "key moments" of the 2022-23 season (the last 5 minutes of the game, the difference was no more than 5 points), Fox's statistics are 5 points per game, shooting 52.9% from the field and 31.8% from three-point range, Brunson also averaged 4 points per game, 51.6% shooting from the field, and 37.5% from three-point range.
Brunson brought toughness to the Knicks, and other teammates praised him, and the Knicks under Brunson's leadership were extremely resilient and competitive, they were no longer a "mermaid" like they used to be, and the off-court news was more enthusiastic than the "fish belly team" presented by the game.
Thibodeau, who has experienced the Knicks in the 90s as an assistant coach, experienced the "iron blood" Knicks "Black Eight" into the finals, and now serves as the head coach of the Knicks, is full of satisfaction when talking about Brunson, praising him as a well-rounded player, with excellent mental and physical toughness, quick thinking ability, and can stimulate the maximum potential of others.
Ranked among the top point guards in the league and led the Knicks to the first championship in 52 years
Brunson is only 1.88 meters, but he is quite strong and knows how to use this advantage, he is a flexible "small steel cannon" type point guard, with solid basic skills, rich scoring means, and a lot of certainty after breaking through the middle, and is very good at using tempo changes to get rid of the opponent's defense.
Brunson is never afraid of confrontation, and is one of the shortest players on the court many times, but he can always see Brunson rushing into the interior to play "2+1", if you want to use an analogy, Brunson may be a classical "offensive kaleidoscope" like Pierce, but a miniature version.
If we stay with the Mavericks and doncic, we may never see Brunson's strengths so fully and the appeal of his unique game content.
In the 2023-24 regular season, Brunson averaged 28.7 points, 3.6 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game, with a three-point shooting rate of 40.1%, he is the absolute core of the Knicks, even if there is Randle on the team, but Brunson is the Knicks' undisputed leader, he helped the Knicks achieve a win rate of more than 60% in the regular season for the first time in 11 years, Brunson was selected as an All-Star for the first time in his career, and he ranked fifth on the MVP final voting list.
In the playoffs, Brunson averaged 33.9 points per game after playing the first 11 games, leading the league, and during this period, he has hit 40+ in a single game 5 times, which is the 4th most in the history of a single playoff in NBA history, tied with O'Neal and Olajuwon, and the experience of 4 consecutive 40+ games makes him comparable to Jordan, in the 31 years from the 1992-93 season to the 2023-24 season, only Jordan and Brunson have achieved 4 consecutive 40+ games in the playoffs.
With a strong play, Brunson helped the Knicks, who lacked important rotations such as Randle and Bojan Bogdanovic, beat the 76ers led by Embiid and got a match point in the second round against the Haliburton-led Pacers.
Brunson is helping the Knicks hit the first championship in 52 years, the Knicks have been up and down for too long, and Brunson's body makes people see the shadow of Reid and Ewing, his toughness and tenacity are very similar to the stars who once led the Knicks to play highlight moments.
Brunson has entered the ranks of the league's top point guards, and Perkins, a well-known basketball commentator, believes that Brunson is the best active point guard in the NBA. So, what do you think about this?