Charles Oakley: Jalen Brunson Tops Carmelo Anthony, Patrick Ewing’s Knicks Legacies | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors
Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images
Former New York Knicks forward Charles Oakley believes that All-Star point guard Jalen Brunson is the “best thing” to happen to the franchise since Walt “Clyde” Frazier, even better than ex-teammate Patrick Ewing and 10-time All-Star Carmelo Anthony.
Oakley made his remarks to Frank Isola and Brian Scalabrine on SiriusXM NBA Radio on Tuesday:
SiriusXM NBA Radio @SiriusXMNBA
“Somebody gonna say – what about Patrick and Carmelo? Ok, they didn’t do this”<br><br>Longtime Knicks star <a href=”https://twitter.com/CharlesOakley34?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@CharlesOakley34</a> joins <a href=”https://twitter.com/TheFrankIsola?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@TheFrankIsola</a> and <a href=”https://twitter.com/Scalabrine?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@Scalabrine</a> and has high praise for Jalen Brunson 👀<br><br>Catch Game 5 of Knicks-Sixers tonight on NBA Radio: <a href=”https://t.co/iiUuqRLa9d”>https://t.co/iiUuqRLa9d</a> <a href=”https://t.co/edsiKUA0os”>pic.twitter.com/edsiKUA0os</a>
“And Brunson, I’m telling you, Brunson’s the best thing since Walt Frazier. I know somebody gonna say, ‘What about Patrick and Carmelo?’
“OK, they didn’t do this. I mean, you know, they got a chance to show. We need more players. Brunson’s playing without Julius, and what he’s doing man, hey, it’s incredible. Keep doing it.”
The 27-year-old Brunson averaged 28.7 points per game this season en route to leading the Knicks to the Eastern Conference’s No. 2 seed. He’s now guided the Knicks to a 3-1 lead over the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round, thanks in part to a 47-point effort in a 97-92 Game 4 win on the road.
As amazing as Brunson has been this season, his legacy isn’t on par with Ewing’s just yet.
Ewing made 11 NBA All-Star Games and seven All-NBA teams during his Knicks tenure (1985-2000). New York made the Finals twice with him on the roster (1994, 1999) and came one win away from a championship in ’94. Ewing, a member of the NBA’s 50th and 75th anniversary teams, averaged 22.8 points and 10.4 rebounds as a Knick.
Anthony made All-Star teams in all six of his full seasons as a Knick and even finished third in the NBA MVP voting in 2012-13 when New York won 54 games and made the second round of the playoffs. He averaged 24.7 points during his tenure. The Knicks didn’t have much (or any) success in his final four years, missing the playoffs each time, but he still excelled as a great scorer in New York.
But Brunson, who came aboard in 2022 as a free agent from the Dallas Mavericks, is an emerging Knicks legend already. Last year, he helped lead the Knicks to their first second-round playoff appearance in 10 years. This season, he’s one win away from doing that again and can accomplish the feat Monday with a victory over the 76ers.
Offensively, Brunson has put this team on his back, with some incredible individual performances down the stretch. Now he’s continuing that dominance in the playoffs. The story on this Knicks season (and Brunson’s legacy) is far from over, but he’s been nothing short of exceptional thus far.
