Jalen Brunson Wins NBA Finals 2026 MVP, Top Stats, Highlights and Twitter Reaction
New York Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson is the NBA Finals MVP after a masterful five-game championship performance to lead his team to its first title since 1973.
All 11 media members voting for the Bill Russell Trophy winner chose Brunson.
On Saturday, Brunson scored 45 of his team's points (15 in the final 7:43 of regulation) in a 94-90 road win over the San Antonio Spurs to cap a 4-1 NBA Finals victory.
The Knicks were down 31-15 in the second quarter after a disastrous offensive start. They stopped the bleeding but still found themselves down 10 (83-73) with 8:21 left in regulation.
However, Brunson scored 10 straight points himself to tie the matchup en route to a 21-7 game-closing run.
Brunson eventually gave the Knicks the lead for goo at 90-88 with 1:05 left.
He averaged 32.6 points, 4.6 assists and 4.2 rebounds for the series. Brunson also notably scored a game-high 36 points in Game 4, which saw the team overcome a 29-point (81-52) deficit to beat the Spurs 107-106.
Naturally, fans and analysts gave him due credit.
Brunson was so good that Knicks legend Walt "Clyde" Frazier, who led the team to its previous two championships in 1970 and 1973, had this to say.
Ultimately, Knicks fans are experiencing incredible euphoria after decades of heartbreak and disappointment, and Brunson led that effort.
He'll be a hero forever in New York, and fans will laud him and his teammates on Thursday for the championship parade. In the meantime, Brunson is now the proud winner of the Larry O'Brien and Bill Russell trophies after an amazing series.
