Brunson’s Finals run puts Becky Hammon’s “small player” thesis back on the table

As Jalen Brunson leads the Knicks into the NBA Finals, the debate about whether a team’s best player can be “too small” is colliding with one of the franchise’s most persuasive postseason stretches.

By The Apex Times Newsroom3 min readAI-assisted Apex article

The question at the center of a current Knicks conversation is not about Jalen Brunson’s handle or shot-making. It is about what head coach Becky Hammon argued in 2023, that teams cannot win championships when their best player is undersized. Hammon’s comments have been resurfacing in the wake of Brunson’s rise from Knicks cornerstone to an Eastern Conference champion who is now one series away from the NBA’s biggest stage.

Hammon made her case on ESPN in December 2023, saying the Knicks could not win a championship if Brunson was their best player, calling him “too small” and stating, “If your best player is small, you’re not winning.” In the fuller version of the remarks that has circulated since, Hammon added that she views certain small guards as exceptions, naming John Stockton, Allen Iverson, Steve Nash, and then arguing that Steph Curry is in a “different class.”

What has changed since then is that Brunson has pushed past the sort of postseason milestones that typically define the all-time debates. After New York swept the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference finals, Brunson received the Larry Bird Trophy as MVP of the series. In that sweep, he averaged 25.5 points and 7.8 assists, a production profile that put the Knicks’ offense on his shoulders at exactly the times when most teams tighten up.

Those numbers matter, but so does the way Brunson has produced for New York in moments that become part of franchise lore. pointed to one example when it noted that Brunson sits atop the Knicks’ all-time list for points scored in a single playoff game: 47 points in a 2024 Eastern Conference first-round game against Philadelphia, with 10 assists in the same performance.

Hammon, for her part, did not completely retreat from her original philosophy once the Knicks reached the Finals. In interviews tied to New York’s advance, she said she was “speaking historically” and pointed to Allen Iverson as an example of a small-guard star who won MVP-level recognition but did not ultimately finish the job. She also said she is “up for being proven wrong” and that if Brunson can deliver, then her argument will have to bend.

The immediate test is New York’s matchup in the Finals. NBA game notes for the 2026 postseason show the Knicks playing the San Antonio Spurs, starting with a Game 1 win that closed 105-95 and a Brunson-led scoring effort that included 30 points. In a postseason debate built around size and role definition, the Finals provide the cleanest version of the same question: can the lead guard be the offense’s stabilizer against the league’s best defensive adjustments?

On the “where does he rank among great Knicks guards” question, one recent take framed Brunson as already staking a top-tier claim, ranking him No. 3 among the franchise’s all-time guards and arguing that the Finals berth is a line he has earned. That is still a subjective ladder, and it is hard to knock down the historical anchors of Walt “Clyde” Frazier and Earl “The Pearl” Monroe, not to mention the even larger-than-life comparisons to Patrick Ewing. But if Brunson keeps turning pressure into production, he is forcing New York fans to update their list in real time.

Why It Matters

This is a live tactical argument about how modern offenses survive elite defenses, not a debate about one night’s highlights.
If Brunson sustains his role as the offensive engine in the Finals, it further weakens the “size automatically limits impact” theory Hammon raised.
A Knicks title would reshape the franchise’s modern guard legacy, moving Brunson closer to the tier of the team’s historical icons.
Hammon’s comments are already driving additional scrutiny, meaning each series sequence can turn into a referendum on leadership and shot creation under pressure.

Sources

Key Facts

Becky Hammon made remarks in December 2023 on ESPN arguing that a team cannot win a championship if its best player is “small,” using Jalen Brunson as the example.
New York swept the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference finals, and Brunson won the Larry Bird Trophy as MVP of that series after averaging 25.5 points and 7.8 assists.
highlighted Brunson as the Knicks’ all-time leader in points scored in a playoff game, citing his 47-point, 10-assist performance in 2024.
Hammon later said she was “up for being proven wrong,” and she referenced Allen Iverson in explaining why she still sees the history of small stars finishing titles as uncommon.
Official NBA game notes list the Knicks’ 2026 Finals opponent as the San Antonio Spurs, and they cite a 105-95 Game 1 win in which Brunson scored 30 points.