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Tim Bontemps
After arriving in New York three years ago, Knicks star Jalen Brunson has become the face of the franchise.
On Wednesday, he became the NBA’s Clutch Player of the Year.
“I think some people are born into it,” Brunson told TNT’s “Inside the NBA” on Wednesday night about being clutch. “I think I had to learn back in high school, and I’ve gotten better and better at each stage, and here we are.”
Brunson has established himself as one of the most consistent clutch players in the league. New York was fifth in the league with a 61% win rate in clutch games this season, while Brunson shot 51% in clutch time this season and led the league with 5.6 points per game that met the league’s criteria for the “clutch” designation.
“Just finding a way to win,” Brunson said. “That’s the most important thing. You can make clutch plays but they don’t mean anything if you don’t win. The winning part is most important to me.”
Brunson finished with 70 of 100 first-place votes, landing on 98 of 100 total ballots. Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic was a clear second with 26 first-place votes, while Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards was third in balloting.
Brunson’s prowess in late and close games was on display for all to see Saturday in Game 1 of New York’s first-round series against the Detroit Pistons. Brunson led the Knicks on a 21-0 fourth-quarter run to claim victory.
With the best-of-7 series tied at 1, Brunson said the key is “just starting fast” in Game 3 on Thursday night.
“I think they’ve gotten the better of us starting the game in Games 1 and 2, and we have had to climb back in both games,” Brunson said. “We got to start off well. They are playing way too well for us to start off slow.”
The Clutch Player of the Year award, named after Jerry West, has been awarded three times, with De’Aaron Fox (2023) and Stephen Curry (2024) also having won.
It is the second of the league’s seven major individual awards to be handed out, with Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard winning the Sixth Man of the Year award Tuesday night.
The Defensive Player of the Year award will be given out Thursday, followed by the Hustle Award on Friday. The rest of the major honors — Most Valuable Player, Most Improved Player, Coach of the Year, Rookie of the Year and the All-NBA, All-Defense and All-Rookie teams — will be announced over the next few weeks.
