Jalen Brunson is making his way to the top of the mountain
Jalen Brunson has built on a phenomenal first two years in New York to get even better this season.
Jalen Brunson was named to his second straight All-Star Game a few weeks ago, though this time around he was selected as a starter for the first time (and got to play a whole eight minutes to show for it). The first-year captain has been the leading engine to the Knicks’ best start through 54 games in almost 30 years, as they headed into the All-Star break with a 36-18 record with 28 games left.
Best Record Through First 54 Games of Season
New York Knicks – 3-Point Era (Since 1979-80)
Brunson has played in 53 of the Knicks’ 54 games this season, averaging 26.1 points per game (PPG) and 7.5 assists per game (APG) on 49.2% shooting and 39.7% from three. As he did last season for New York, after the season reached its halfway mark, he’s kicked it up to another level scoring the ball. He’s averaging 28.8 PPG on a ridiculous 52.7% shooting and 42.4% from three over his last 15 games.
Remember: Last season with Donte DiVincenzo as his second option for most of the second half of the season, Brunson averaged 31.6 PPG on 48.8% shooting and 38% from three over his final 39 regular season games... before averaging 32.4 PPG across two playoff rounds.
For starters, nobody has the ball in their hands more than Brunson, who leads the NBA at 6.10 seconds per touch. The next closest is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander at 5.52 seconds per touch, and he’s averaging an NBA-high 32.5 PPG for the team with the best record in the West this season. It’s Brunson’s offense — the Knicks’ offense succeeds and fails as he goes.
Average Seconds Per Touch
2024-25 Season (Min. 2,000 Touches)
When a guy as ball-dominant as Brunson has the ball in their hands so much, they’re likely to find themselves in isolation (one-on-one vs. a defender). However, you have to remember that Brunson is “listed” at 6-foot-2... and, let’s be honest, that listed height is most likely a stretch.
Also, the Knicks haven’t done him any favors at times in terms of spacing, pairing non-shooters Precious Achiuwa and Josh Hart with him in many minutes (72.6% of minutes since OG Anunoby went down with a foot sprain). That hasn’t mattered for the Knicks’ Captain on offense.
On the season, only Kevin Durant — who has evaded father time on offense in his age-36 season — has posted more points per possession (PPP) in isolation than Brunson among players with 175 isolations. The top-five list for points per possession consists of three guys listed at 6-foot-8 or taller, the 6-foot-5 James Harden, and the “listed” 6-foot-2 Jalen Brunson.
Most Points Per Possession (PPP) in Isolation
2024-25 Season w/ Player Height (Min. 175 Poss.)
If you’re going to be successful in the isolation game, you probably need to prevail with your pull-up shooting... and Brunson does just that. Among players with at least 300 pull-up shot attempts, he has the fifth-highest FG% (44%), ahead of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (43.2%).
Highest Field Goal % on Pull-Up Shots
2024-25 Season (Min. 300 Attempts)
Another facet of Brunson’s game is how lethal he is on offense in the pick-and-roll game, which is enhanced with having one of the best stretch 5s in the game in Karl-Anthony Towns. Last season, Brunson was helped by Isaiah Hartenstein in the pick-and-roll game due to the center’s screening ability. Not to take anything away from Hartenstein, but Brunson now gets to work in the PnR game with one of the best floor-spacing bigs the NBA has ever seen.
Another cool thing the Knicks have in their arsenal is Deuce McBride, but not for the reasons you think. Sure, he’s a great point-of-attack defender and floor spacer as an off-ball guard, but the great thing about playing him with Brunson is that you can use him to screen for Brunson. The Knicks love using guards (and Josh Hart) to screen for Brunson, and since McBride is an above-average screener (and probably one of the best on the Knicks), they can thrive together.
This season, Brunson ranks second with 1.09 points per possession as the pick-and-roll ball handler among players with 250 possessions as the pick-and-roll ball handler. He can easily take full advantage of defenses playing perimeter defenders in drop coverage.
Most Points Per Possession (PPP) as PnR Ball Handler
2024-25 Season w/ Frequency % (Min. 250 Poss.)
When teams are too busy trying to keep up with Brunson in the pick-and-roll, that opens so much up for fellow All-Star starter Karl-Anthony Towns. He ranks third among players with at least 100 possessions as the PnR roll man with 1.28 points per possession, behind three-time MVP Nikola Jokic and Jarrett Allen — who leads the NBA with a 70% field goal percentage among players with at least 300 field goal attempts.
Most Points Per Possession (PPP) as PnR Roll Man
2024-25 Season w/ Frequency % (Min. 100 Poss.)
According to James Edwards of The Athletic, Brunson and Towns have run a pick-and-roll together 714 times this season — that’s the third-most in the sport. In Edwards’ column, it’s noted that the duo’s PnR combo ranks in the 99th percentile in efficiency and racks up 107.3 points per 100 possessions. Edwards does a fantastic job breaking down the gravity that Towns brings to the team, and how his teammates (not just Brunson) have thrived playing alongside the big man.
Going back to Brunson’s (lack of) height, it’s incredible that he’s averaging the second-most drives per game (18.7) in the league this season behind SGA (20.9). Being the engine that he is, he can contribute while driving in a variety of ways — 63.7% of his drives result in points and 10.2% of his drives result in assists. He’s one of six players this season with at least 500 drives to the rim to have 60% or more of his drives result in points and 10% or more of his drives result in assists.
60% or Better PTS%, 10% or Better AST%
On Drives – 2024-25 Season (Min. 500 Drives)
It’s also pretty interesting to point out that just 4% of Brunson’s drives result in turnovers. That’s the third-lowest mark in the entire league this season, behind Donovan Mitchell (3.9%) and Tyrese Haliburton (3.9%). Three of the six guys listed above have turnover rates above 6% on drives this season (LeBron James, Lillard, Morant).
OG Anunoby should be back in the Knicks’ lineup after the All-Star break concludes, and while Brunson has still risen to the occasion with the lesser spacing, there’s a large enough sample size that shows that Brunson plays his best with Anunoby on the court.
In 78 games – including the postseason – since the Knicks acquired Anunoby in late 2023, Brunson is averaging 28.4 PPG with a 60.4% true shooting percentage (TS%) when the former Raptors’ forward is in the lineup. Brunson’s TS% without Anunoby on the floor since the start of last season is 58.5%, which is above league average (57.4%), but he has a 60.4% TS% with Anunoby spacing the floor with him — almost a two-point jump.
All in all, teams have tried everything to stop Brunson. In the playoffs last year, you had the Sixers trying to guard Brunson with 6-foot-8 Kelly Oubre Jr. and 6-foot-8 Nicolas Batum; then, the Pacers tried to throw 6-foot-5 Aaron Nesmith and 6-foot-5 Andrew Nembhard at him.
Remember: We saw Brunson average over 32 PPG during last season’s playoffs.
Nobody this season has had to cover Brunson for more minutes than NBA steals leader Dyson Daniels (6-foot-8) of the Hawks. He might’ve kept him at 14 points (5-15 shooting) in their NBA Cup matchup in December, but Brunson has destroyed Atlanta in their two matchups in the new calendar year, averaging 35 PPG on 64.1% shooting from the field (both wins over Atlanta).
None of that matters. It doesn’t matter the size of the defender, because Brunson will topple whichever mountain he needs to climb.
