How Jalen Brunson Joined Michael Jordan, Magic, Kareem and Bill Walton in Basketball History
New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson entered select company as he became an NBA champion and Finals MVP on Saturday night.
Brunson is now one of eight players to win a title in college and the pros while claiming MVP in the NBA Finals, per CBS Sports' Adam Silverstein. The other seven are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, John Havlicek, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Isiah Thomas, Bill Walton and James Worthy.
Retired Villanova coach Jay Wright said Brunson is in "Incredible company !!!" while reacting to a post that erroneously listed Magic Johnson as a Naismith College Player of the Year winner.
What he pulled off in the 2026 Finals is going to be a legacy-defining achievement for Brunson.
For as much grief as she's receiving now, WNBA legend Becky Hammon could point to the Knicks losing in the 2024 and 2025 playoffs as evidence for why Brunson wasn't a "1A" star who could lift his team to a championship.
The southpaw definitively proved Hammon wrong and now a lot of others will look at him differently. He's already being discussed as perhaps the greatest Knicks player ever, and how he's viewed among his current peers will evolve.
With one playoff run, Brunson put himself on an all-time legend-type trajectory.
