27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
WATCH: What is Jalen Brunson's basketball superpower? His brakes
Scroll down to watch my video explaining the key to Jalen Brunson's one-on-one brilliance despite his size.
Jalen Brunson is rarely the fastest player on the court. He's often the shortest. He won't even lift for a mundane dunk — as The Athletic's Mike Vorkunov noted, Brunson's slam in Sunday's Game 3 was his first of the entire season.
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Yet Brunson is also the reigning NBA Clutch Player of the Year and one of the most unstoppable one-on-one players in the game. So how does he do it? How does he create so much space even with five defenders constantly locked onto him, and especially in the most vital moments?
As I explain in this video, it's not about how fast Brunson can sprint. It's about how fast he can stop.
Brunson's best skill is his ability to slow down quickly. It's how he kills mismatches, especially in fourth quarters.
Anyone is susceptible to his herky-jerky twitches. Just ask Ausar Thompson, who learned the lesson during the Knicks' first-round series win over the Detroit Pistons. The 22-year-old Thompson is up there with his twin brother Amen on the list of the NBA's most athletic players. He has six inches on Brunson, plus an eight-inch wingspan advantage. The Pistons wanted him on Brunson whenever possible during the series.
But in Game 6, with the score tied in the closing seconds and the Knicks leading the series 3-2, none of that mattered. Brunson didn't try to drive by Thompson. Instead, the Knicks' guard stopped on a dime when crossing over, to the point that Thompson slid so far in the other direction that he was out of the baseline camera's frame. Brunson walked into a wide-open shot. Game, and series.
No one plays with speeds or angles like Brunson does.
