Jalen Brunson Is Knick Who Suffers Most From Mitchell Robinson Split

Mitchell Robinson was incredible for the Knicks. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it. He had his free throw shooting troubles and injury concerns. But when he was on the court, he was consistently one of the most impactful big men in the entire league.

Robinson’s unique skill set that combined efficient finishing, historic offensive rebounding, and elite defense is not something the Knicks will be able to replace or replicate with one player.

Andre Drummond, the Knicks’ answer to losing Robinson, is a great screener and rebounder and can recreate some of what made Robinson an important part of what New York did. But he isn’t Robinson.

No individual Knick will miss the backup center more than Jalen Brunson, though. While the entire team will feel his absence, Brunson’ play could be more directly impacted than any other player on the team.

Mitchell Robinson's Knicks exit has a huge impact on Jalen Brunson's game

The two had developed really strong rapport in the two-man game. Robinson finished the season with the second highest points per possession in the league on plays where he was the roll man.

The big man’s finishing usually put defenders in a tough position when he rolled to the basket. Opponents often had to choose between stopping Robinson from getting an attempt at the rim, or containing Brunson.

Jalen Brunson 🤝 Mitchell Robinson

(via @nyknicks) pic.twitter.com/W47QFrPyJU
— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) November 22, 2025

Drummond is a good screener, but he graded out incredibly worse as a finisher last season. In those previously dangerous pick-and-rolls, defenses now don’t have to worry about Drummond as much. Instead, they can blitz Brunson at the point-of-attack, or bring help on his drives.

The Finals MVP is a very cerebral player. He’s managed to solve pretty much every kind of defense the league has thrown his way. It’s plausible he finds a way to make the two-man game with Drummond effective.

But with the vertical threat of Robinson no longer in the picture, Brunson may struggle to produce elite results when paired up with Drummond. He’ll now likely have to work even harder and smarter to find the right angles and spots.

Another area where Brunson may see a slight regression is on three-pointers. The point guard already had a down season from beyond the arc last season, shooting it at just a 36.9% clip after shooting it 38% or better three seasons in a row.

In two of the last four seasons, Brunson has shot the three ball extremely well off Robinson’s passes. This past campaign, Brunson was an impressive 20 of 39 from three off of Robinson’s passes. And in the 2022-23 season, he was 12 of 20.

A lot of that is due to Robinson’s incredible offensive rebounding skills. But it’s also because of Robinson’s development as a passer out of those rebounds. Over the lat few seasons, he became adept at looking for and hitting three-point shooters as soon as he grabbed an offensive rebound.

The Knicks could coach up Drummond to do the same. But then again, he might not be able to, especially as he's older and less athletic than Robinson. Brunson was the biggest and most common beneficiary of Robinson’s kick outs. Not having them may hurt him.

Mitchell Robinson to Jalen Brunson: “JB my guy i love you and ima miss you brotha! Keep proving them wrong!” pic.twitter.com/rfc01tRRMP
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) July 2, 2026

Robinson also helped out Brunson on the other end of the floor. Though he’s still often a negative defender due to his small stature and lack of elite athleticism, his effort at least helped improve things a little. And due to Robinson’s elite rim protection and ability to switch out on to the perimeter, it made the Brunson-Robinson lineups serviceable defensively.

Lineups consisting of Brunson and Robinson generally performed well. Of the 78 two-man combos on the Knicks that played more than 100 minutes last season, it had the 10th-highest offensive rating and posted a good net rating of +11. A lot of that was due to Robinson keeping the defense afloat while he finished around the rim and kicked out offensive rebounds out for threes.

The Knicks’ point guard and coaching staff should be able to recreate some of that with Drummond. But it won't be the same, which puts extra pressure on Brunson without his sneaky partner in crime.

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