Where does Jalen Brunson rank statistically among Knicks greats in NBA postseason history?
Jalen Brunson of the Knicks reacts during the first quarter against the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals at Frost Bank Center on Wednesday in San Antonio. Credit: Getty Images
Jalen Brunson has delivered time and time again for the Knicks, and it was no different on the biggest stage of his NBA career Wednesday night.
Brunson scored 30 points to lead the Knicks to a 105-95 come-from-behind win over the Spurs in Game 1 of the NBA Finals in San Antonio.
To no one's surprise, Brunson was at his best in clutch time. He scored 13 fourth-quarter points, including the go-ahead corner three to give the Knicks a 97-95 lead with 1:50 left and the dagger — a contested 14-foot pull-up jumper with 37.8 seconds left — to extend the lead to 101-95. The Knicks trailed by 14 in the third quarter and were down 95-94 with 2:16 left before ending the game on an 11-0 run.
Brunson has lived up to his "Captain Clutch" nickname, too. He has 144 clutch playoff points since the 2023 postseason, and no other player has more than 85 in that span, according to NBA.com. He also has 364 fourth-quarter points since then, and only one other player has more than 250 (the Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with 292). Clutch time is defined as the final five minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime when the score is within five points. Brunson won the NBA Clutch Player of the Year Award last season.
The 29-year-old, 6-2 point guard has been anointed as one of the best Knicks of all time, with many fans ready to crown him the best if he delivers the franchise its first NBA title in 53 years. Through 57 playoff games as a Knick, here’s where Brunson ranks in the team’s postseason history.
POINTS
1. Patrick Ewing, 2,787
2. Walt Frazier, 1,927
3. Jalen Brunson, 1,663
4. Willis Reed, 1,358
5. John Starks, 1,352
Unless Brunson averages 44 points per game in six more games against the Spurs, he’ll remain third on the Knicks’ all-time playoff points list once the Finals end. However, he’s climbed the list with significantly fewer games played than Ewing (135), Frazier (93), Reed (78) and Starks (93).
POINTS PER GAME
(Career postseasons for Knicks, minimum 10 games played)
1. Bernard King, 31.0
2. Jalen Brunson, 29.2
3. Carmelo Anthony, 28.0
4. Walt Frazier, 20.7
5. Patrick Ewing, 20.6
Brunson’s points-per-game average this playoffs is 27.1, which is the lowest of his four postseasons as a Knick, as he averaged 29.4 last year, 32.4 in 2024 and 27.8 in 2023.
King played only 18 playoff games for the Knicks in two postseasons — averaging 34.8 points in the 1984 playoffs — and Anthony played only 21 playoff games for the Knicks in three postseasons. Frazier and Ewing were consistently prolific scorers over several postseasons for the Knicks, with Frazier playing in eight and Ewing playing in 13.
Other Knicks had strong postseason scoring averages in extremely small sample sizes: Bob McAdoo (23.8 points in six games in 1978), Campy Russell (23 points in two games in 1981) and Stephon Marbury (21.3 points in four games in 2004).
WINS
1. Patrick Ewing, 71
2. Charles Oakley, 58
T-3. Bill Bradley & Walt Frazier, 54
5. Dave DeBusschere, 51
6. John Starks, 49
7. Willis Reed, 45
8. Anthony Mason, 39
9. Charlie Ward, 37
T-10. Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart & Dick Barnett, 36
Brunson has a long way to go to become the Knicks’ all-time leader in playoff wins, but not all the players ahead of him delivered a championship; the only players who did were Frazier, Bradley, DeBusschere, Reed and Barnett, all of whom were part of both championship-winning teams in 1970 and 1973. Brunson seemingly has plenty of postseason opportunities left to climb up the wins leaderboard, though a championship this year would speak for itself.
ASSISTS
1. Walt Frazier, 599
2. John Starks, 392
3. Jalen Brunson, 379
4. Dick McGuire, 282
T-5. Patrick Ewing & Mark Jackson, 271
ASSISTS PER GAME
(Career postseasons for Knicks, minimum 10 games played)
1. Maurice Cheeks, 7.8
2. Rory Sparrow, 7.1
3. Ray Williams, 6.7
4. Jalen Brunson, 6.6
5. Mark Jackson, 6.5
Sure, Brunson is known as a scorer, but he also ranks among the Knicks’ best playoff distributors. Averaging 6.3 assists per game this postseason, Brunson is set to pass Starks for second on the total assists leaderboard during the NBA Finals. In terms of assists per game, Cheeks, Sparrow and Williams all played fewer than 20 playoff games for the Knicks.
GAMES PLAYED
1. Patrick Ewing, 135
2. Charles Oakley, 113
3. Bill Bradley, 95
T-4. Walt Frazier & John Starks, 93
6. Dave DeBusschere, 86
7. Willis Reed, 78
8. Anthony Mason, 71
9. Charlie Ward, 67
10. Phil Jackson, 65
T-11. Greg Anthony & Dick Barnett, 63
13. Allan Houston, 60
T-14. Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart & Harry Gallatin, 57
Brunson has yet to come close to the franchise’s leaders in postseason games played. By the end of the NBA Finals, he and Hart still are guaranteed to rank outside the top 10 on this list, but if they make another NBA Finals run, that would change.
Potential NBA Finals history: Heart over height
The NBA has handed out Finals MVP awards since 1969, when Jerry West won it for the first time (even though the Lakers lost that seven-game series to the Celtics).
Brunson is listed at 6-2, perhaps a generous listing. Asked about Brunson’s scoring ability during December’s NBA Cup knockout rounds in Las Vegas, Hart jokingly responded that Brunson is “barely” 6-foot, “not physically impressive” and the best “inch-for-inch” scorer in the NBA.
In NBA history, only three players 6-2 or shorter have been named Finals MVP: the Pistons’ 6-1 Isiah Thomas (1990), the Spurs’ 6-2 Tony Parker (2007) and Golden State’s 6-2 Stephen Curry (2022).
Brunson will try to become the fourth.
Ben Dickson is Newsday Sports' general assignment reporter. He joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.
