Watch Chris Broussard and Rob Parker of Fox Sports Radio’s The Odd Couple explain why they’re hesitant to label New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson a ‘star’ at this point despite the 27-year-old averaging 36.6 points per game this postseason for an upstart Knicks team seemingly primed to make the Eastern Conference Finals.
Check out the segment above as Broussard compares Brunson to former unheralded Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas, who finished 5th in MVP voting in 2017 for a 53-win Boston before drifting back into irrelevance shortly after, and never following up his 28.9 points per game average from that season.
Chris Broussard: “Anthony Edwards is a bonafide superstar. Now there’s all this talk ‘is Jalen Brunson a superstar?’ He scored 35 points per game in their 6-game series victory over Philadelphia. I have gone on television and radio saying ‘no, not yet.’ I’m not saying he will get there and I’m not saying he won’t -- I’m saying not yet. Even if he has another huge series, another 30-something points per game and they beat Indiana, he’s still not a superstar. So why is Edwards, who hasn’t gone any further in the playoffs than Brunson, why is he a superstar and Brunson isn’t?”
Rob Parker: “Jalen Brunson got zero Rookie of the Year votes his rookie year. We thought Anthony Edwards got robbed the year they gave it to LaMelo Ball, so we saw something to think he was the best rookie at that point. He was in that conversation, and I think a lot of it has to do where you come from, your pedigree – those are your expectations. Those are the people you look at it. It’s no disrespect to Brunson. He was not on anybody’s radar to be a Rookie of the Year. What he’s doing is tremendous, we’re not saying he’s not worthy of a conversation, but there’s a big difference between being a ‘star’ player, and a guy who is playing really well. Brunson’s tag [being a star] is flimsy and could fall off at any time. Edwards’ is NOT flimsy.”
Broussard: “Brunson’s first four years in the league he was a role player. You can say Dallas didn’t know what they had, but initially he wasn’t that good. The burden of proof in terms of becoming a superstar is going to be higher for Jalen Brunson than is it for Anthony Edwards. Edwards was the first pick of the draft – he's SUPPOSED to be a superstar. When Jalen Brunson steps in the league, you’re not asking ‘is he gonna be a superstar?’, it’s ‘is he even gonna stay in the league?’ He had one very good year last year, one great year this year; now six seasons deep and we're supposed to already say he’s a superstar?? Then why wasn’t Trae Young a superstar? Why wasn’t little old Isaiah Thomas with the Boston Celtics a superstar? He had some really nice years before going to Boston, then averaged 29 points on a 50+ win Celtics team and finished fifth in the MVP voting. Was anybody saying he was a superstar?? Can we STOP IT!? It’s just ridiculous. I’m not saying he can’t get there but he really has to show a lot more. There’s an aesthetic factor. Brunson is fun to watch but he’s not the spectacular of Anthony Edwards.”
Parker: “If you’re not there already, the chances of you getting there are slim to none. Very few superstars emerge that late.”
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