Why Jalen Brunson is #9 in my NBA player rankings for 2025 | New York Knicks
Jason explains why he has Jalen Brunson, point guard for the New York Knicks, ranked inside the top 10 of his NBA player rankings and ahead of guys such as Anthony Davis, Donovan Mitchell, and Kevin Durant. Then he reacts to comments made by Denzel Washington and makes the case against gatekeepers of content.
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#nba #nbaplayoffs #nbafinals #nbahighlights #nbabasketball #basketball #sports #reaction #rank #ranked #ranking #knicks #newyorkknicks #jalenbrunson #kevindurant #anthonydavis #lebronjames #denzelwashington
38 Comments
Jalen brunson is a hero ball god. One man army offense. Total belief from his teammates. Even if he misses, give it back to him for the following possession. Ultimate greenlight
Nah Bro AD and Mitchell are both better than him
Mail Bag: Where does Alperen Şengün rank on your list? As a first option of the 2nd best team in the stacked Western Conference, does he deserve more credit than some of the second option on your TOP 25? Also, do you think he and Jokic fits more or less the same archetype, or do you think Jokic is so unique and thus different from the rest?
Thank you. Ex & current players are by far the worst to listen to. They’re too dumb.
Hey Jason, I truly like your videos, your analysis, and your passion for the game. And I have never agreed more with you than with the take on Denzel's comments.
6’1 2nd round pick who became a true NBA superstar out of nowhere, it’s just incredible
The LeBron glazing is why Jason will not be very successful long term. It’s limiting his objectivity. To have him over Jalen is ridiculous
Brunson in game 4 vs Celtics in the 2nd half was unbelievable. Took over the game and basically won the series there.
As long as someone is unfair and biased they are nothing. Bill Simmons are nothing. Colling Cowherd is nothing. These people capture haters' attention by feeding their hate. That's all. Pathetic. Edit: Steven A Smith is a "legend" of what is wrong with today's society. A biased, unfair individual using skills to talk nonsense and fuel hate for years is an absolute fat zero in every single regard. He's not a "legend" for his skills. He's an idi*t for his lack of integrity. Jason, this was one of the worst things you ever said. Edit: We absolutely SHOULD gatekeep integrity. And, yes we should absolutely BELITTLE a lack of integrity. Sorry, but you didn't get it, Jason.
w ending. you're def top 3 fav analyst
I fwy bro but hating on Stephen a smith is a little lame
I was never interested in basketball growing up. I think a random highlight popped up on my YouTube feed one day back when harden was on the rockets, with capela. And I watched it, kinda enjoyed, then the algorithm started and then I started getting into a lot. Now I quite enjoy it. Still would be classed as a "casual" but I enjoy listening to people talk about the game, and explain things.
LBJ is gonna be ranked too high 😆
Great take. Brunson easily a top 10 player in the league now days
Speak it brotha.
The last segment is absolutely correct, so well said
Great section on gatekeeping in Sports, what is ironic is that most terrible takes I see online are from former players like Gilbert Arenas. Keep up the good work
As elite as Brunson is his offense a gift and curse. He got that Luka style where he tanks the pace and ball dominant
Denzel was right. Too many people talking bad about the league. Everything is negative. Or a Goat debate. Few people actually have value with their opinions. Gate keeping filters out the view chasing, hot take spewing talking heads.
He is too small !! Why don't teams just post him up ALL day ?
Love you Jason but there’s zero chance in hell that Brunson is better than Kevin Durant. Durant is still one of the best two way players in the league and is underrated in terms of how complete of a basketball player he is. Durant is better than Brunson at quite literally everything on a basketball court (except foul baiting)
What I hate is mediocre actors getting Oscars for life time awards.. Denzel is a chump..
42 playoff games 30pts 4r 7a on 57% true shooting is crazy … mans is a playoff riser each and every time
32:10 I was a rotation player , I remember I made a 3 on the road after the home team s coach trash talk me , the feeling of me watching him called the timeout is priceless
Mailbag: Hi Jason, I'm a long time listener from Hong Kong. Your podcast is one of my favourite podcast to listen to. Keep up the good work. I think you ranked Joel Embiid too high at 14. I agree with you that a "healthy" Embiid is a force to be reckoned with, but even a "healthy" Embiid is one that plays about 60 regular season games and is likely missing some playoff games. Given that Embiid averaged less than 30 games over the last 2 seasons, I dont think he'll be healthy enough nor good enough to be in the top 15. His injury history is scary and unlike say MPJ, it's still ongoing. He's had quite a few knee surgeries…and from what I've heard once you start having knee surgeries you're only going downhill. Given all this (and his performance last season), I don't think he's likely to return at peak performance. if he's lucky maybe 90%-95% of his peak, and hard to assume he'll play more than 50 games and not miss some playoff time. to me that sounds like someone barely in the top 25. I would rather have Butler ranked higher than Embiid.
Love the show, but the editing in the adds is bothering me. It’s not that hard to build in a break instead of cutting off a sentence. Not your fault, but rather feedback for your producer and editors.
I know more about basketball than some of the morons who used to play and are now on podcasts (or ESPN for that matter)…
I think Denzel actually play ball in college
32:55 bro what are you talking about that dude didn’t say that shit
Thank you for making it clear just underwhelming thibs was as an offensive coach
Very good analysis.
Mailbag- hi Jason. Brunson has been better than Steph and LeBron over the past 3 post seasons. He solved that Miami zone. The only other person to do that in 2023 was joker. Philly was triple teaming him in 2024. He was the only real creator both those seasons. Brunson had a pretty easy time against Indiana this post season until he wore down.
Do you think LeBron and Steph could have done the same at this point in their careers?
Do you think GMs would really trust those two over Brunson next season.
Wemby over Brunson? 😂😂😂 gotta just laugh atp
MAILBAG: In 2012, the Miami Heat had a higher net rating with LeBron on the court without Wade than when they were both on the court together. However, they closed all of their games with LeBron and Wade on the court together, naturally. It seems like an obvious decision to close games with all of your best players on the floor, but what is the value of doing so, if you are statistically worse ? (Love the show, keep up the good work)
Mailbag:
Not a question about the rankings, but WNBA related. Paige Bueckers has taken the W by storm this season for her rookie year. She doesn’t have a cultural & ratings impact as much as Caitlyn Clark.
But my question is how would you compare (& differentiate) Paige to Caitlyn? Who would you pick to build a team around? Who is better in a vacuum? Who would be their NBA comparison?
As a Lakers fan, we are spoiled to have you, Pete, Cranjis, & Trevor cover our team with in-depth data, schematic, cap, & narrative analysis
Mail bag: I made a post that was to long about Aaron Gordon and why he should be on this list. I just want to know where do you rank him and why?
Brunson should be like 6 or 7
Mailbag: Hey Jackson and Jason! Chopping it up with you two on Playback and watching this channel for years has made me a better basketball fan. Thank you for all your hard work and knowledge!
My question is :
1) What can Brunson add to become a top 5 player?
2) I get Hali has the bragging rights after their series but after Games 1 & 2 Brunson was averaging 39.5pts 8ast on 52% from the field. My concern with putting Hali over Brunson is I’ve seen Brunson go on four game playoff stretches averaging 42pts 10ast on 50%, I’m almost certain Hali couldn’t do that if he tried. As much as Hali does to facilitate, TJ & Mathurin going off has nothing to do with Hali. Same with Siakam dominating ISO’s or Nesmith hitting 6 contested 3’s. He was pretty bad in the finals and even though he reached them, Brunson would not struggle that much. Back against the wall I know what it looks like for a LeBron, Jokic, Giannis, SGA, Brunson, etc to put on Herculean efforts…even in losses. I just feel like Hali, if he’s required, if his teammates are simply cold for a series, he wouldn’t be able to reach that same Herculean level the other elite engines could because of his inconsistent scoring. How much should a high scoring floor factor into who’s better?
Thanks as always guys !