SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – JUNE 13: Jalen Brunson #11 of the New York Knicks lifts the Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award trophy after defeating the San Antonio Spurs in Game Five of the 2026 NBA Finals at Frost Bank Center on June 13, 2026 in San Antonio, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
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When the New York Knicks officially won the 2026 NBA championship, it was framed as a team effort by everyone involved. And it was.
Since finding themselves down two games to one in the first round against the Atlanta Hawks, various Knicks have put on starring performances while the team won 15 of the next 16 games en route to a title.
Every time a player struggled, they were picked up by a teammate. The Knicks’ Josh Hart was quick to thank his teammate, OG Anunoby, for his late block and tip-in saving him in the waning seconds of New York’s Game Four comeback.
And when Jalen Brunson was struggling to find his shot in the early portion of these NBA Finals (he was 19-of-56 from the floor over the first two games), he had help from his fellow Knicks to help fuel wins.
Yet, when the dust settled on the Knicks’ impressive title run, it was Brunson who put the team on his back to clinch the win over the San Antonio Spurs. His 45 points in Saturday’s Game Five win were tied (with Michael Jordan) for the most points in a Finals-clinching victory on the road. The effort secured him the series’ MVP award as well, putting an exclamation point on the Knicks’ stunning turnaround since Brunson’s arrival.
It also helped put to bed prevailing tropes about small guards, and their abilities to win NBA championships.
Setting The Small Guard Bar
Brunson is at his best surrounded by bigger wing defenders and shooters, who can keep the midrange clearer and allow him to attack the basket.
It’s why Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart and OG Anunoby were ideal fits alongside him, as all three are dogged defenders who can also knock down some big shots (with Anunoby doing so at the highest frequency of those three).
But that group, along with Karl-Anthony Towns, needed more ball movement and less isolation to get the most out of this lineup. Coach Mike Brown brought that, and the results were clear by the end of the playoffs.
Brunson was great this season, and had been in previous seasons with the Knicks as well. Yet, he still needed ideal surroundings to have it all click for a championship run.
For Curry, early seasons with the Warriors saw him score plenty, but Golden State wasn’t winning yet. That group, too, needed Steve Kerr’s system installed to best utilize Curry’s prolific three-point shooting alongside Klay Thompson and Draymond Green (and later, Kevin Durant).
Thomas benefited from the league’s best defense behind him in the form of the overtly physical Bad Boy Pistons.
Other perceptively shorter players needed the benefit of being a complement to the main (1A, to borrow from Hammon) guy.
Tony Parker, also 6-foot-2, was on four championship teams with the Spurs, but Tim Duncan was the focal point for most of those groups (Kawhi Leonard was arguably the star for the 2014 title).
JJ Barea, who was listed at under six feet tall, won the 2011 title but wasn’t even the starting point guard for those Dallas Mavericks. That was Jason Kidd, who himself was “only” 6-foot-4. But that team was also predicated on the singular gravity of Dirk Nowitzki.
The End of a Trope
Since 2015, the NBA title winners’ starting point guard has been 6-foot-2 or shorter six separate times (Curry four times, Kyle Lowry once and Brunson once). They’ve been 6-foot-4 or shorter nearly every season, save for 2020 and 2025.
Though it may be harder for the best player on a title team to be 6-foot-2, the data shows it’s far from impossible. And even if every “1A” player isn’t Curry or Brunson, smart roster construction also means they don’t necessarily have to be if the team put around them is effectively making up for the abilities they may lack.
That doesn’t mean to diminish what Brunson’s done this year, however.
His role with the Knicks is already the stuff of legend for a franchise and fan base that’s long been happy to crown him as one. And now he has the hardware to remove any outside doubt that he deserves the praise.