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Becky Hammon's Jalen Brunson Apology Ironically Came Up Short

Becky Hammon finally talked about her take on Jalen Brunson's size without actually saying she was wrong.
Joseph Randazzo|
Becky Hammon's latest Jalen Brunson comments are more of a letdown.
Becky Hammon's latest Jalen Brunson comments are more of a letdown. | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

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New York Knicks

Coming back from multiple double-digit deficits one of the New York Knicks' best quality on the court, but proving their naysayers wrong might be the one thing they excel in most off of it. Case in point with Jalen Brunson.

Kevin Durant was wrong to say the Knicks were uncool back in October 2019, and an entire city coming together after the NBA Finals showed he was off base. Then, of course, there was Becky Hammon, who mentioned Jalen Brunson was too small for him to lead the Knicks to a championship. That sentiment has garnered the most resentment after the Finals for obvious reasons.

Now, close to two weeks removed from the Knicks winning their first title in 53 years, Hammon spoke about her take on Brunson's size. Initially, she questionably didn't take back what she said, and claimed Brunson is the exception to the rule.

"I mean, he was that 1A dude," Hammon said. "But apologize, I'm never gonna apologize for having an opinion. That's what ESPN pays me for."

After the Aces' loss to the Liberty, and following more backlash to her reponse, Hammon was forced to quickly revisit the Brunson topic again. Her response seemed fine on paper, admitting "I was wrong" about Brunson. But when you listen to it, the tone comes across as sarcastic.

Brunson with one for the ages

It takes a certain type of stubbornness for Hammon to dance around her initial take, the way she did. Even her attempt to say "my bad" about the captain didn't quite hit the mark. Not that it matters at this point. Especially since he did what few have ever done to close out the fourth quarter of a Finals game.

Brunson became the first player since Michael Jordan during the 1998 Finals to post 45 points or more in the close-out game on the road. Fifteen of those points came in the fourth.

Brunson also averaged 9.9 points per fourth quarter during the Knicks ' Magic Finals run. He is one of two players to have accomplished such a feat. Brunson did it once before during the 2024 postseason when he averaged 10.1. Before then, Dirk Nowitzki did it in 2011. He also had 9.9.

What makes Brunson proving Hammon wrong even more apropos is who was guarding him in that fourth quarter. The most recent Finals MVP, who has been knocked for his size ever since Stephen A. Smith said the Villanova squad didn't have any NBA-ready players on it, did it with 7-foot-4 Victor Wembanyama on him the entire quarter. It's an instance where size truly did not matter.

But perhaps New York should be glad Hammon said what she said before. It clearly was on the minds of even non-Brunson players in the locker room, as Josh Hart not-so-subtly called Hammon out during their recent live taping of the "Roommates Show".

It's clear this team thrive on whatever outside noise it can use as fuel. The fact their leader was questioned just lights an extra fire under everyone else who believes in him. That clearly showed during this dominant playoff run where the entire Knicks core shut up any questions about them being able to deliver a championship.

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Joseph Randazzo
JOSEPH RANDAZZO