Analyst Ranking Jalen Brunson Outside of Top-5 New York Athletes Despite Knicks Title Stuns Fans – “Another Clickbait Garbage”

Jalen Brunson has leapfrogged in the conversation of the best athletes to represent New York-based sports teams after NBA title win.

Analyst Ranking Jalen Brunson Outside of Top-5 New York Athletes Despite Knicks Title Stuns Fans – “Another Clickbait Garbage”

Jalen Brunson and Chris Russo (Image via FirstSportz)

The 2025-26 New York Knicks have cemented their place in the city’s sports folklore as one of the best teams of all time. In the same manner, Jalen Brunson also becomes one of the city’s most important athletes.

That is a major departure from the time when the franchise first signed the point guard in free agency. Many had questioned the thought process when the top brass handed out that much money to a player considered mid-tier at best.

Those doubts continued when he and the Knicks could not get past the Eastern Conference Finals stage. In fact, many had started to throw a suggestion around that the team could move on from him.

All those question marks were supplemented when Becky Hammon suggested that teams cannot depend on small guards to win them titles.

Now, all the 29-year-old has essentially shut those naysayers for good, and some have had the decency to apologize to him directly or indirectly.

Leading the franchise to win its first title in more than five decades, while bringing the amount of joy it did to the city, should rank him in the Top 5 of all-time New York athletes.

But somehow, longtime radio analyst and New York sports fan Chris Russo does not think so. While on First Take, he listed a plethora of players he would rank ahead of Jalen Brunson.

He admitted that what the Villanova alum has done is unforgettable, but reminded his colleagues that others have done more. Eventually, he ranked the Knicks star 7th or 8th.

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Fans tear into Chris Russo for bizarre Jalen Brunson ranking

Considering the atmosphere in New York, it was inevitable that fans would turn towards Chris Russo and flame him for his top-five athletes ranking.

Placing Jalen Brunson outside the Top-5 was bizarre. But some pointed out how he cannot put the Knicks superstar behind some players. Check out examples of those reactions below.

Some fans did agree that Jalen Brunson has to do a bit more than win just one championship and a Finals MVP. Maybe in a few years, if he continues to keep the Knicks at the top of the NBA, he could become one of the all-time greats. But many do not agree with Chris Russo’s current ranking

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Jalen Brunson’s father won’t rank him ahead of other Knicks greats

Some fans did agree with Chris Russo that Jalen Brunson needs a few more years of playoff supremacy to be in the Top-5. Currently, his father, Rick Brunson, who has played with some Knicks greats, is not ready to place his son above them.

The Brunson's
The Brunsons (Image via People)

Patrick Ewing is the greatest right now… Pat was the hardest-working guy we had, and he was the best player. Pat did it for 15 years in New York, Jalen did it for four… Another seven years, you can revisit that question, but as of today, the big fella is my favorite.

Rick Brunson said on CBS Mornings

The Knicks assistant coach believes that it will take a few more years for his son to overtake the great Patrick Ewing. Sure, the latter did not win a title, but what he did for the franchise is far beyond what the current point guard has done.

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