Becky Hammon Doubles Down on Jalen Brunson Comments 2 Years Later: ‘I Said What I Said’
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Credit: Jeff Schear/Getty for The Sports Power Brunch; Gregory Shamus/Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- Becky Hammon isn't taking back the remarks she made two years ago about Jalen Brunson
- The Las Vegas Aces coach said in December 2023, “If your best player is small, you're not winning"
- Brunson, named MVP of the Eastern Conference Finals, stands 6 feet, 2 inches tall
Becky Hammon is not backing down about what she once said regarding Jalen Brunson’s stature, despite the fact that the New York Knicks star is now soaring to new heights with an NBA Finals berth.
The Las Vegas Aces coach, 49, is standing by her comments from more than two years ago, in which she once implied that the 6-foot, 2-inch Knicks guard was too small to make a big impact.
"I speak from experience," Hammon — who was listed as 5 feet, 6 inches in her WNBA playing days — told reporters on Tuesday, May 26. "Allen Iverson got MVP, and he lost in the Finals. I think the two best teams are probably in the West, but I'm up for being proven wrong.”
She continued, “That's the other thing, I think Jalen Brunson's a hell of a player, a hell of a player. I'm speaking historically on the NBA with what I said. I don't know why everybody's so stuck on that. I said it two years ago. I stand by it."
In an episode of ESPN's NBA Today from December 2023, Hammon offered her assessment of the Knicks and said at the time that the team was "missing" a "1A dude."
“If your best player is small, you're not winning,” she added.
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Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony TownsCredit: Scott Taetsch/Getty
In the 29 months since Hammon made her comments, the 29-year-old Brunson’s contributions to the Knicks have only grown.
In 2025, he was named to his first All-Star team as the team has built a roster featuring Villanova alums (and other players) around him.
The additions of Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby have only helped to solidify Brunson’s transition from a once-back up for the Dallas Mavericks to a hero Knicks fans think should have his own a statue in front of Madison Square Garden.
In 2024, he talked about his love for playing in New York in an interview with PEOPLE.
“It's been amazing,” Brunson told PEOPLE at the time. “It's being a part of this organization, the city being close to where I was born and where I grew up, it's pretty special just knowing that my dad at one point played for this organization, and it brings back a lot of the memories from when I was younger.”
He added, “It's been a perfect situation and I just love being here and I love the opportunity that's been given to me, and I just love being able to go out there and try and help a team win.”
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Now, averaging 26.9 points, 6.8 assists and 3.3 rebounds per game across 14 postseason games, Brunson is seemingly ready for whichever opponent he faces: the Oklahoma City Thunder or the San Antonio Spurs.
As for Hammon, her allegiance is with the team that made her the first full-time female assistant coach in NBA history and the city that once honored her with a mural.
"I said what I said,” she said on Tuesday, regarding Brunson. “If he proves me wrong, he proves me wrong. Good for him. But I do think the two best teams are in the West, and you know who I'm cheering for."
Read the original article on People