Their final result is 50-32. It is the first time in 11 years that New York has had 50 wins in a season since 2013, when Camelo Anthony was on the team. Years have passed and the ace has already changed. He is Jaren Brunson, who transformed New York into the top-ranked team in the East in two years.안전놀이터
It wasn't that Jaylen Brunson was cheered by New York fans from the beginning.
It was in July 2022. New York is hunting for guards in the FA market. The target was Jaylen Brunson, who had earned limited FA status in Dallas.
Brunson was the hero of the second round. In the 2018 draft, Brunson, who was ranked 33rd overall in the second round, emerged as a one-two punch to lead the team along with Luca Doncic after successfully developing storms for four years. Notably, in the first round of the 2022 playoffs, he led the team's offense in the first and third rounds without Luca Doncic.
Although Brunson was sluggish in the first game with a field goal ratio of 37.5 percent (9/24), he scored 41 points in the second game and 31 points in the third game to lead the team to victory. Brunson's field goal ratio in the second and third games was close to 57.4 percent (27/48).
In the playoffs this year, Brunson averaged 21.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 3.7 assists in 18 games with a 46.6% fielding rate, greatly contributing to Dallas' advance to the Western finals.
The incident took place in the FA market in July. New York, which had gained limited FA status, took notice of Brunson. At the time, New York had already hired Rick Brunson, a former NBA player, leader, and Brunson's father, as its assistant coach, and had already secured the position to recruit Brunson. (Rick Brunson was appointed as New York's coach in June 2022, one month before the FA market opened. This sparked controversy over his tempering.)
Dallas also had the will to catch Brunson. As Brunson was a limited FA, he had to stay in Dallas if he ran a match (with the same offer) to other teams' offers.
However, New York's offer was too sweet. Brunson was offered a $104 million contract at the time, which was considered a four-year, $80 million to $90 million. Dallas eventually surrendered, and New York, which was looking to reinforce its guard, was able to hold Brunson in its arms.
Of course, there was controversy. Despite being the FA mayor, Brunson was a fresh starting player with a 16.3 point average at the time. He wasn't the ace player to lead a team. With such a player brought in more than $100 million, it was only natural to call him an "overpay."
In response to the public criticism and controversy over the bubble, Brunson returned the result.
In his first season as a New York player, he played in 68 games and recorded 24.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 6.2 assists. After Randall, he was the second scorer in his team, while assist was the first. After Randall, he established himself as New York's second option, and pushed out RJ Barrett to become his team's one-two punch.
In this season, Brunson ranked 12th in MVP voting and third in MIP voting. Notably, he earned a lot of votes in MIP voting, following players such as Utah's Lowry Makanen and Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgers-Alexander, recognizing his growth since the first season after moving. Brunson's suspicious gaze has now been transformed into conviction and cheering.
It didn't end there. In the 2023-2024 season, Brunson makes another step up. He averaged 28.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 6.7 assists in 77 games.
Brunson, who was ranked fifth in the 27-year-old season in scoring, even took the honor of being selected as the first All-Star in his career. He is expected to receive considerable votes in the MVP vote, and is expected to make the All-NBA team this season.
The word "King of New York," which used to mean Julius Randle for a while, has now changed its main character. New York fans do not hesitate to call Brunson the new king of New York. This is because the opposing teams have shown unexpected performances in every game.
Brunson scored as many as 61 points on the road to San Antonio on March 30, with only seven players in the league who have played more than 60 points this season.
Including this game, Brunson showed tremendous performance with an average of 37.8 points, 8.3 assists, and a field goal rate of 49.3 percent in the final 10 games of the regular season. Brunson has become the third player in NBA history to score 375 points and over 60 percent of the true shooting percentage (compensated field goal ratio considering the difficulty of three-point shots and free throws). The previous two were Wilt Chamberlain in 1963 and Michael Jordan in 1987.
If you look at Brunson's performance this season, you can't explain it except to say it's amazing.
The 188-centimeter-tall guard scored an average of 28.7 points, recording a field goal rate of 47.9 percent. In other words, the player can hardly find a player like Brunson who is as efficient as he is in Oklahoma City, except for Shai Gilgers-Alexander (Oklahoma City), Luka Doncic (Dallas), and Devin Booker (Pinix). As you know, they are all better players than Brunson in height.
So why is it so hard to stop Brunson? There are a few secrets.
One is the efficiency of targeting short mid areas. Short mid refers to areas ranging from 4 feet to 14 feet (a mid-range area extending from the semi-circle of the RA zone to about 3 meters) based on the rim.
Brunson is one of the league's best masters in attacking the region. It effectively produces field throws in short mids with post-up hooks and jumpers as well as floaters using breakthrough. He is not large in height, but he is particularly good at movement using strong force. The shoulder, back, and buttocks are used to create bumping, and the space secured through this is used for shooting attempts.
Brunson's attack on the short mid-range is a good indication of how a guard can become an effective scorer in modern basketball. Ironically, Brunson's play that effectively attacks the area around the paint zone in the NBA is "anachronistic" in a way. However, Brunson's play is much more stable and team-friendly than some guards who rely on inefficient three-point shots and spectacular perimeter plays. It would be easier to understand compared to Jordan Full (Washington), who made his name around the same time as Brunson.
Brunson-led New York will meet seventh-ranked Philadelphia in the first round of the playoffs. Some even say that this is the worst-case scenario. Philadelphia is a top-seeded team in the East that ranks seventh in overall pattern. Some say that Milwaukee's decision, which fell to third place at the end of the regular season, is wise.
Even New York is unable to make the playoffs at 100% full strength with Julius Randle out for the season with a shoulder injury. What will the playoffs look like for New York, which has had its first 50-win season in 11 years? There's a lot on the shoulders of Jaren Brunson, the new king of New York
This season, Brunson was honored as the first All-Star in his career. Then, how about joining the All-NBA team.
It should be noted that starting this season, the NBA has removed the position division from the selection of the All-NBA team. In other words, if you were able to join the All-NBA team if you were in the top six of the guard positions in the past, you should be in the top 15 players of the league this season to be in the All-NBA team without any position division.
First of all, Denver's Nikola Jokic, Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgers Alexander, Dallas' Luka Doncic, Boston's Jason Tatum and Milwaukee's Janis Antetokounmpo are likely to join the All-NBA First Team.
Fortunately, Brunson has been on par with or superior to other players this season. He is expected to be able to join the second team along with Minnesota Twins' Anthony Edwards, Lakers' LeBron James, and Clippers' Kawhi Leonard. Indiana's Tyreece Halliburton and Sacramento's Domantas Sabonis are also available, but they are not enough to push Brunson away.
If he makes the All-NBA team without difficulty as expected, Brunson can expect another jackpot. It is the Super Max contract. Brunson signed a four-year contract with New York in 2022, agreeing to a 3+1 contract that would allow him to opt out in the summer of 2025. As a result, it is possible to negotiate an extension with New York this year, and if he has a track record of awarding an All-NBA team, he can expect a mega contract. New York is also committed to catching Brunson.