NBA Hall of Fame coach Becky Hammon had a rather hot take during a recent appearance on the NBA on ESPN show. Hammon talked in detail about the current state of the New York Knicks.
Hammon was speaking with Malika Andrews, Kendrick Perkins, Chiney Ogwumike, and Brian Windhorst on a recent NBA Today segment. They were talking about the New York Knicks and why they are seemingly stuck near the middle of the Eastern Conference. Hammon proceeded to say that the Knicks do not have ‘a A1 dude’ who can lead them to the top tier of the Eastern Conference. Perkins responded by claiming that they do have Jalen Brunson. To this, Hammon responded by saying;
“He’s too small. If your best player is small, you’re not winning… Steph Curry is the only dude.”
Hammon backed her comments by claiming that history has proven that if the best player on a team is small, they don’t win the big prize.
Becky Hammon is a WNBA legend both as a player and a coach. She herself was a small player as reminded by Ogwumike during the debate. Hammon however, claimed that the NBA required bigger players to lead teams. She used her own example of always coming short during her playing days, and reiterated her point by claiming that the game of basketball favors the ‘big and the bold’.
Ogwumike asked Perkins again if Brunson was that A1 guy who could lead the Knicks to an NBA Championship. Becky talked about how players such as John Stockton, Allen Iverson, etc. never won any titles. The only exception was Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry, who as per Hammon is simply in a different league.
How the Knicks and Brunson have fared so far
Since being traded to the New York Knicks in the 2022 off-season, Jalen Brunson has elevated the team to playoff contention. He was seen as the missing piece for the franchise to elevate themselves as an Eastern Conference elite. Brunson delivered with a run in the playoffs last season. He averaged a career-high 24 points and 6.2 assists per game during the regular season.
That production pushed the Knicks to a fifth-place finish compared to 11th the year before. However, in the playoffs, they fell short against eventual NBA finalists the Miami Heat, in the Conference Semis.
Several analysts have mentioned that the Knicks need another star player to take them to the elite tier of the Eastern Conference. Becky Hammon reiterated the same, citing Brunson’s height while referencing her own example.
