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The New York Knicks snuck out with a 120-119 overtime win over the Chicago Bulls in the final game of the regular season to clinch the No. 2 spot in the Eastern Conference, and that caused Kendrick Perkins to call for Jalen Brunson to be named first-team all-NBA for the first time in his career.
“We can debate all day long if Brunson should be in the MVP conversation… but the one thing that’s not debatable is Big Body Brunson being 1st Team All-NBA!!! Carry the hell on…”
In the Knicks’ win over the Bulls, Brunson led the way, as usual. He scored 40 points with eight rebounds and seven assists. They needed every point they could get to secure the win.
The signing of Brunson continues to be a home run for the Knicks, and he has a great argument for being on the best value contract in the NBA. He is in the second year of a four-year, $104 million contract. He has one more year with a cap hit of $24,960,001 before his player option in the summer of 2025, according to Spotrac, when he will undoubtedly opt out and get a raise, likely from the Knicks. When Brunson was signed, there was some initial criticism from the NBA world. Obviously, that has aged poorly.
The all-NBA voting will determine a lot for Brunson, with how contracts work. He would become eligible for a supermax contract at some point, presumably when he can use his player option.
Jalen Brunson’s 2023-2024 season and playoff outlook with Knicks
Brunson has had an incredible season, averaging 28.6 points with 3.6 rebounds and 6.7 assists, according to Basketball Reference. He has done a lot of heavy lifting with the Knicks this season, as they have dealt with injuries to Julius Randle and OG Anunoby.
Julius Randle injured his shoulder in January in a Knicks win over the Miami Heat at home. He was the one sharing the scoring load with Brunson this year, and he will unfortunately miss the playoffs.
The Knicks acquired OG Anunoby in exchange for Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett and a second-round pick right at New Year’s. In January, when the Knicks were fully healthy, they were looking like the best team in the NBA. Unfortunately, Anunoby suffered an elbow injury around the same time as Randle suffered his injury. Luckily, Anunoby is back now and will play in the playoffs.
Understandably, the Knicks struggled for a bit in February after the losses of Randle and Anunoby. Thanks to Brunson, they figured out how to play without Anunoby and Randle to the best of their abilities.
Now, the Knicks are the No. 2 seed, despite those injuries. They will take on either the Philadelphia 76ers or the Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs.
More must-reads:
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- The 'NBA Coach of the Year' quiz
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