Newly minted All-Star Jalen Brunson wasn’t having it Saturday morning when told that many people believe he is the Knicks’ best point guard since Clyde Frazier.
“No,” he interrupted. “Just no.”
Brunson, of course, is the leading reason the Knicks carried a nine-game winning streak and a 15-2 record in 2024 into Saturday night’s game against the Lakers at the Garden.
Brunson, who was named an All-Star for the first time in his career Thursday night, has known Frazier for years because his father and Knicks assistant coach Rick Brunson played for the Knicks when he was a child.
Brunson spoke reverently about the 78-year-old Frazier — a Hall of Fame point guard, a seven-time All-Star and a two-time NBA champion from 1967-77 with the Knicks — and still an immensely popular figure at the Garden as the longtime color analyst for MSG Network.
“I always say ‘hi’ to him whenever I walk past him on the bus or on the court — I always check in with him,” Brunson said. “I haven’t talked about the things that he was able to accomplish. Just because we just haven’t had the time to sit down. But it’s always a respect.
“Whenever I see him. I have to say ‘hi’ to him. I can’t just walk past him because he’s a legend. But to be able to see him every day just knowing the presence he brings around this organization, you have to respect him and you have to understand the things that he did as a player are remarkable.”
The 27-year-old Brunson’s ascension the past two seasons since signing with the Knicks as a free agent also have been remarkable.
He entered Saturday’s game averaging career bests in points (27.1 per game), assists (6.4), 3-point percentage (.417) and minutes played (35.7).
Brunson added that “no one out of the ordinary” reached out to him about his All-Star selection, “just a lot of friends and family” offering congratulations.
He also recalled an early memory at 9 years old of the 2006 All-Star Game in Houston and meeting All-Star center Yao Ming, a teammate of his dad’s with the Rockets.
Lakers superstar LeBron James, who said he was “hoping to be able to go out and contribute” after sitting out Thursday’s game in Boston with an ankle issue, called Brunson “phenomenal” and said he was “super happy and super proud” of him for his All-Star designation.
Asked if players such as Frazier and James transcend basketball, Brunson showed his competitiveness in his response.
“Yeah, off the court, for sure off the court. I feel like once you get on the court, you’re gonna have to compete,” Brunson said. “You can acknowledge, you can respect the legacy and what they’ve done throughout their career, but once the ball is in the air, you just have to go out there and compete.
“I mean, since we’re playing LeBron, the things he’s been able to do, it’s been nothing short of spectacular, nothing short of remarkable. Everything he’s done has been legendary. And I respect the hell out of him. But when we go out on the court, we’re gonna have to compete, and you can’t just look at it and think he’s this idol, which he is, but we gotta go out there and just compete against the Lakers.”
Similarly, Brunson said the Knicks’ recent run — moving them a half-game behind the Bucks for the No. 2 playoff position in the Eastern Conference entering Saturday’s games — “doesn’t change our thinking at all, and it won’t.”
“I know where we are, and we have to have the same mindset every single night,” Brunson said. “We need to go out there and be better than we were the day before. And so no matter where we are in the standings, no matter how many we’ve won in a row, my mindset is to be better every single time we’re on that court.
“So, no record, no standing, no accolades are going to make us think differently.”
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