WNBA coach Becky Hammon refuses to apologize for her treatment of Jalen Brunson.
In 2023, Hammon said Brunson isn’t a “1A guy” and said if your best player is small, you’re not going to win on ESPN’s “NBA Today.” She doubled down on her position in late May and wondered why everyone was so stuck on it.
Although Brunson won the Finals MVP and led the Knicks to the title, she still refused to apologize for her stance on Tuesday.
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(Left) Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon coaches against the Phoenix Mercury during the first half in Phoenix, Arizona, June 17, 2026. (Right) Jalen Brunson is seen during the New York Knicks ticker-tape parade along the Canyon of Heroes in New York, New York on June 18, 2026. (Mark J. Rebilas/Imagn Images; NDZ/Star Max/GC Images)
“Jalen, all he did was prove the story wrong. He proves he’s an outlier,” Hammon said after the Aces shooting, according to the New York Post. “So you can put his name next to Steph Curry and Isiah Thomas, and I thought he played brilliantly, especially down the stretch.”
“I mean, he was that 1A guy,” Hammon said. “But apologise, I will never apologize for having an opinion. That’s what ESPN pays me to do.”
Brunson, who stands 6-foot-2, scored 45 points in the Knicks’ 94-90 win over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5 and established himself as one of the best players in franchise history.
The Knicks captain then appeared to respond to Hammon’s comments during the Knicks parade last week, while speaking outside City Hall.
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Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks celebrates with the Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award and Knicks owner James Dolan after defeating the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5 of the 2026 NBA Finals at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas on June 13, 2026. (Grégory Shamus/Getty Images)
“A lot of people have a lot of negative things to say,” Brunson said. “A lot of people have their own opinions. But when you prove them wrong, you don’t have to bullshit them. They don’t deserve it.”
While Brunson may not have directly addressed Hammon, she was the subject of Knicks fans’ ire for her now-infamous catch. Hammon then offered another version of Brunson to “piss off Knicks fans again.”
“Let me piss off the Knicks fans again and say, I think he’s the greatest Knick of all time,” Hammon said. “Give them something else to say. … I’ve always been a fan of Jalen Brunson. I was a fan of his at Villanova, in Dallas, and why that comment went off the rails, I have no idea because it was clearly a historical and analytical take.”
When she doubled down in May, she said she was prepared to “be proven wrong.”
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New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson warms up before Game 5 of the NBA Finals at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas on June 13, 2026. (Scott Wachter/Imagn Images)
Brunson just concluded his fourth season with the team, but has already become a franchise icon.
In four seasons with the Knicks, Brunson averaged 26 points, 5.3 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game. He made the All-Star team three times in his four seasons and was named the NBA’s Clutch Player of the Year last season.
During the NBA playoffs, Brunson took his game to another level. He averaged 29.4 points, 5.5 assists and 3.7 rebounds in four playoff series with the Knicks and helped the Knicks end their 53-year playoff drought.
