New York Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson capped off the best month of his young career on Tuesday with a 37-point, 6-assist masterpiece against the Los Angeles Lakers despite losing in overtime.
Despite the loss, Brunson proved once again that he is a star in the making, as Tuesday’s performance was his sixth 30+ point game of January.
Brunson’s breakout season has reached its apex with stellar performances all throughout the month of January, and his All-Star campaign has strengthened significantly.
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Knicks’ Jalen Brunson was phenomenal in January:
Brunson has put the team on his back for practically the entire season, but January saw a different level of dominance for him that has not been seen out of the young point guard from Villanova.
In 15 games in January, Brunson averaged the following:
- 28.7 PPG
- 4.1 RPG
- 5.4 APG
- 48.3% FG
- 44.7% 3PT
- 0.7 SPG
- 0.6 BPG
Brunson was doing it all on both ends of the floor and even won Eastern Conference Player of The Week on Jan. 16, gaining the national spotlight and showing the world what he is truly capable of as a basketball player. He raised his season average in points per game to 22.8, which is by far a career-high for him.
His all-around contributions gave the Knicks an 8-7 record for the first month of 2023.
Jalen Brunson deserves to be an All-Star:
To put it bluntly, Brunson should be named as an All-Star this season. He has made a massive difference to this Knicks team and has also made the team more competitive than it has been in quite some time.
While one could argue that the Knicks should have won more games in January given Brunson’s play, it is still a very encouraging sign to see him play at such a high level for a prolonged stretch of games, and there is reason to believe that sooner rather than later his elite play will translate into more wins as well.
It is also worth noting that last season, the Knicks were 24-28 through their first 52 games last season. This season, they are 27-25, and while that figure may not seem to be a staggering difference, Brunson has kept this team afloat even during some of their most brutal stretches, ones in which dismantled the Knicks in previous seasons.
Without any doubt, Brunson is one of the most fun watches out of any player in the league this season, and he deserves to be rewarded for his exceptionally impactful play with a trip to Utah in mid-February.
Brunson will look to start February on a high note when the Knicks take on the Miami Heat on Thursday at Madison Square Garden.
Follow this writer on Twitter: @DylanBacker_