The Knicks are one step from an NBA championship run that has not been seen in New York since 1999, and Jalen Brunson remains the player most responsible for putting them there. He also collected every vote for Eastern Conference Finals MVP, but Draymond Green still argues that Brunson is not yet the kind of 1A star Green believes a title team needs.
Green doubled down on that view on The Draymond Green Show, and he specifically connected his stance to Becky Hammon’s earlier criticism of Brunson’s ceiling. “I double down on this, just like Becky Hammond said. Prove me wrong,” Green said while repeating his belief that the Knicks still need a player in the mold of Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, or LeBron James.
Green’s case centers on championship hierarchy
Green’s argument is not that Brunson lacks value. It is that New York, in his view, still needs a more established top-tier option to become a true championship favorite, especially when the opponent level rises.
He also pushed back on the idea that simply reaching the East should silence the debate. “Getting out of the East has never been a surefire way to win a championship,” Green said, adding that making the conference finals does not automatically mean a team is ready to win it all.
That position has drawn attention because Hammon recently stood by her own comments from 2023. During an episode of ESPN’s NBA Today in December 2023, she said the Knicks still lacked an “1A dude,” and she tied that view to Brunson’s size when she said, “If your best player is small, you’re not winning.”
Hammon stood by her remarks, but praised Brunson’s game
Hammon later clarified that her point was historical rather than personal. She pointed to Allen Iverson as an example of an MVP-level guard who still fell short of a Finals title, while also saying Brunson is “a h-ll of a player.”
She added, “I’m speaking historically about the NBA with what I said,” and said she stood by the original statement even while leaving room to be proven wrong. That context matters because Green leaned on Hammon’s words this week as he repeated his own skepticism about whether Brunson alone fits the profile of a title-clinching centerpiece.
Brunson’s production has already changed the conversation
The challenge to Green’s view is that Brunson keeps answering with results. He has driven New York’s postseason surge with shot-making in big moments, including the comeback from a 22-point fourth-quarter deficit against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
That kind of late-game control is a major reason Brunson has become the emotional and tactical center of the team. He is also averaging 9.2 points per game in fourth-quarter scoring, which underlines how often the Knicks rely on him when games tighten.
New York’s broader structure also complicates the “one-star” argument. Mike Brown has reshaped the offense so that the ball moves through the rotation, while Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns have helped create a more balanced attack that does not depend on one player carrying every possession.
A different kind of Knicks team
The Knicks have built their identity around connective basketball, and that has shown up in the scoring distribution. Every starter is in double figures, which gives the roster a different look from teams that depend almost entirely on one dominant scorer.
That balance has carried through multiple playoff series, too. New York has handled different styles of opponents, including Atlanta and a deeper Cleveland roster, and the Cavaliers and 76ers each had recognized top-end talent of their own.
Still, none of that has stopped Brunson from putting the Knicks in position to keep advancing. His play has helped fuel an 11-game playoff win streak, and that kind of run is hard to separate from franchise-level leadership.
Why the debate remains open
Green’s view rests on a familiar playoff theory: elite teams usually need a player who can bend a series on his own. Brunson’s supporters point to the exact opposite, arguing that his consistency, clutch scoring, and leadership already define that role in New York.
The tension between those two readings is what keeps the conversation alive. Brunson has already delivered the most important postseason stretch New York has had in decades, but some around the league still want to reserve the “1A” label for a different class of star.
For now, the Knicks continue moving forward with Brunson as their focal point, while Green remains unconvinced that the current formula is enough to finish the job.
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