Jalen Brunson made more baskets than anyone else in the NBA this season when games were considered to be on the line.
He delivered in the clutch. And a trophy is coming his way.
Brunson, the New York Knicks鈥� star guard, won the NBA鈥檚 clutch player of the year award on Wednesday. He got 70 of the 100 first-place votes, easily beating second-place Nikola Jokic of Denver and third-place Anthony Edwards of Minnesota.
鈥淚 think some people are born into it,鈥� Brunson said on TNT shortly after the results were revealed. 鈥淚 think I had to learn. I learned back in high school, kind of got better and better at each stage, and here we are.鈥�
Brunson 鈥� who made a league-best 52 field goals in clutch time 鈥� averaged 5.6 points on 51.5% shooting in those moments, with the Knicks going 17-11 in the games he played that met the criteria for the 鈥渃lutch鈥� designation.
Brunson was truly at his best in the final 30 seconds of those games. He shot 11 for 17 鈥� 64.7% 鈥� in those moments, including 4 for 8 from 3-point range.
A panel of 100 global writers and broadcasters who cover the NBA voted on the award. The NBA's head coaches each submitted five names for consideration, and that list resulted in 20 candidates.
Brunson is the third winner of the award, after De鈥橝aron Fox (then of Sacramento, now of San Antonio) in 2023 and Golden State鈥檚 Stephen Curry last year. The award is named for Hall of Famer Jerry West 鈥� who was dubbed 鈥淢r. Clutch鈥� when he played as a nod to his exploits when games were on the line.
For a play to be considered clutch, by the NBA鈥檚 definition, these are the criteria: the score differential has to be five points or less, and the game has to be in either the final five minutes of the fourth quarter or in overtime.
鈥淥ftentimes you鈥檇 say, 鈥榃ell, he has poise under pressure and he has confidence.鈥� And so, where do those things come from?鈥� Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said of Brunson. 鈥淎nd you understand that it comes from his preparation. You obviously have to have great talent. But because of the way he prepares himself, when he鈥檚 in those situations he鈥檚 very confident because of the work that he鈥檚 put into it.鈥�
The clutch player award was the second handed out by the NBA during its awards season. as the league鈥檚 sixth man of the year on Tuesday. Another award comes Thursday: defensive player of the year, with the finalists being Atlanta鈥檚 Dyson Daniels, Golden State鈥檚 Draymond Green and Cleveland鈥檚 Evan Mobley.
The hustle award will be announced Friday. Announcement dates for the other top honors 鈥� MVP, most improved player, rookie of the year, and coach of the year, along with All-NBA and All-Rookie team selections 鈥� have not yet been revealed by the NBA.
Edwards led the NBA with 157 clutch points this season, while Brunson was second with 156 and Jokic was fourth with 140. Jokic was also third in clutch-time rebounds with 50 (behind Domantas Sabonis and Giannis Antetokounmpo, both of whom grabbed 53), and Edwards was fourth in clutch rebounds with 45. Jokic was second in clutch assists with 36 (one fewer than Trae Young), with Brunson third in clutch assists with 28 and Edwards tied for 28th.
鈥淔inding a way to win, I think that鈥檚 what鈥檚 most important,鈥� Brunson said. 鈥淵ou can have clutch plays, but they literally don鈥檛 mean anything if you don鈥檛 win. The winning part is most important for me.鈥�
Jokic got 28 first-place votes and Edwards got the other two. Young was fourth, Curry was fifth, Cleveland鈥檚 Darius Garland was sixth, LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers was seventh, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of Oklahoma City was eighth, Cleveland鈥檚 Donovan Mitchell was ninth and three players 鈥� Dallas鈥� Kyrie Irving, Philadelphia鈥檚 Tyrese Maxey and Boston鈥檚 Jayson Tatum 鈥� tied for 10th.
___
AP NBA:
Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press
