THE The New York Knicks have two NBA championships under their belt and Jalen Brunson hopes the legendary franchise can offer its third contract soon. Recently, Knicks legend and champion Walt “Clyde” Frazier spoke about Brunson’s chances of becoming one of the greatest of all time.
He spoke at the Fanatics sportswear event in New York on Saturday, delivering a message the public needed to hear about Brunson. “The expectations are always huge, so to rise to that occasion in his first two years and accept that challenge … He definitely has a chance to be one of the best Knicks of all time.”
Frazier added that Brunson reminds him of Willis Reed, the two-time NBA Finals MVP and two-time NBA champion of the New York Knicks, the man who limped onto the court after suffering a torn right thigh muscle to lead the Knicks to a Game 7 victory in the 1970 NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Comparison of Frazier and Brunson statistics
Frazier mentioned center Reed as the Knicks’ comparison player for Brunson when in reality his own stats are quite similar to the current Knicks superstar.
Frazier and Brunson have average of 18.9 and 16.9 pointsrespectively, with Brunson playing in just over half as many games. Frazier averaged about six rebounds and six assists per game during his career in the Big Apple. Brunson still fills up the stat sheet but not to the same degree as Frazier, with career averages of 3.2 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game to his name.
Comparing Brunson to Knicks Legend Willis Reed
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The comparison between Brunson and Frazier is quite different than the one between Brunson and Reed. Reed averaged 18.7 points and 12.9 rebounds as New York’s unofficial chairman of the board.
In this comparison, Brunson really shines as a shooter. He’s averaging 48.9 percent shooting over his career, compared to legendary Knicks big man Reed’s 47.6 percent.
Brunson’s efficiency is perhaps the main reason he’s been compared to Reed by Frazier, another Knicks legend. If Brunson can keep his momentum going and get Reed-like performances from Mitchell Robinson and Julius Randle, the Knicks will have no limits in 2024-25.
