Kristian Winfield: Knicks’ Jalen Brunson stands alone as NBA’s Clutch Player of the Year
Not all superheroes wear capes — at Madison Square Garden, the Knicks’ captain doesn’t need one.
Jalen Brunson delivered yet another late-game masterpiece in Wednesday’s 110-105 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers, scoring 12 of his team’s final 15 points to hand the Sixers their ninth loss in a row.
It wasn’t just another game-winning performance, even if it’s become the norm at The Garden. In fact, Brunson wrote another chapter in what should be the definitive case for his candidacy as NBA’s Clutch Player of the Year.
The award, named after Hall of Famer Jerry West, honors the player who delivers in the biggest moments — defined by the NBA as the final five minutes of a game within five points. No one has done it better this season than Brunson.
“It’s what he does all the time. He’s capable of scoring like that in the fourth,” said teammate Mikal Bridges. “It helped us win the game.”
It’s hard to make a case stronger than one for Brunson, who has logged 115 points in the clutch this season. His mark ranks third in all of basketball behind only Atlanta’s Trae Young and Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey.
Young’s Hawks, however, are 15-15 in games that come down to the wire, and Maxey’s dumpster-fire 76ers — marred by injury all season long — are 11-12 in their clutch games.
The Knicks are 14-7 in crunch-time this season, boasting a 66.7% win percentage in games that come down to the final moments of regulation. That ranks second only behind the league-best Cleveland Cavaliers (17-6) and a hair better than the defending champion Boston Celtics (16-9).
Cream of the clutch crop
Brunson is one of only four players to log 100 or more points in the clutch as of Thursday morning.
Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards is the fourth, but his Timberwolves are 15-20 in clutch games. Plus his inefficiency in late-game moments disqualifies him from serious consideration: Edwards is shooting just 39.8% from the field and 29.8% from three in crunch time while posting nine assists to 11 turnovers with a minus-48 net rating.
Denver’s three-time MVP Nikola Jokić has a compelling case and could be considered for Clutch Player of the Year as a consolation prize should he lose the MVP race this time around to Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Jokić, a three-time MVP, is a dark-horse contender with 99 clutch points on elite 56.7/54.5 shooting splits with a positive late-game assist-to-turnover ratio. His Nuggets are 13-9 in close games, but his numbers don’t stack up against Brunson’s.
Plus, he has help.
The burden of being the go-to guy
Finding a contender worthy of challenging Brunson for the award is an exercise in futility. The Knicks’ captain shoulders the NBA’s heaviest load in crunch time.
•The Celtics are 15-8 in the clutch, but Jayson Tatum shares late-game responsibilities with his teammates: Jaylen Brown and Derrick White have scored 50-plus clutch points, and Jrue Holiday, Al Horford and Payton Pritchard have each scored 20-plus crunch-time points this season
•The Rockets are 21-14 in games that come down to the wire, but their most clutch performer, Jalen Green, trails Brunson by almost 40 points. Plus his teammate, All-Star big man Alperen Sengun, has scored 72 points in crunch time, five fewer than Green (77).
•Darius Garland leads the league-best Cavaliers in clutch scoring, not superstar guard Donovan Mitchell, painting a picture of shared responsibilities in Cleveland. The Cavs also traded for De’Andre Hunter, who thrived in crunch-time minutes in Atlanta prior to his trade
•And Jokic, too, has help, with Jamal Murray also logging 47 clutch points through 20 games that have gone the distance in Denver.
Yet for the Knicks, Josh Hart ranks 67th in crunch time scoring, Karl-Anthony Towns ranks 75th, and no other player wearing orange and blue has cracked the top-100 in clutch scoring.
Brunson’s 115 crunch-time points accounts for 46.7% of the Knicks’ total clutch offense. No player in the league owns a higher share of his team’s crunch-time scoring.
The legends don’t have much of a foot to stand on, either: LeBron James’ crunch time numbers are impressive for anyone, let alone a 40-year-old, but there’s a near 50-point gap separating him from New York’s captain.
Kevin Durant is 17-9 in the clutch this season but ranks outside of the top-10 in points scored in winning time. Stephen Curry’s Golden State Warriors are two games below-.500 in crunch time.
History suggests mixed results
Last season, Curry won Clutch Player of the Year, edging out DeMar DeRozan and Gilgeous-Alexander despite DeRozan owning a significantly better win-loss record in the clutch. He trailed Curry by just seven clutch points despite three fewer games played. Many felt he was snubbed.
The year before, De’Aaron Fox won the award in its inaugural season, scoring more clutch points than DeRozan and Jimmy Butler.
The precedent? Winning helps, but volume is king.
Brunson has both — and his case was on full display against the 76ers.
The Knicks blew a 19-point lead, and Philadelphia stormed back to take a 97-96 advantage with 3:59 left in the fourth quarter.
Then, the switch flipped. Brunson slowed the game down and got to the line to get points on the board. He got to the rack for a layup then sized-up Maxey for a go-ahead three with franchise legend Carmelo Anthony sitting baseline, calling for Hart to clear out.
Brunson isn’t just putting up clutch numbers — he owns the moment.
He’s the heartbeat of a Knicks team thriving in close games, the most valuable late-game scorer in the NBA.
And when the ballots are cast, there should be no debate.
Captain is short for Captain Clutch, and he saved the day once again.
No cape required.
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