Four-time NBA champion Shaquille O’Neal had seen and played against someone who resembled New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson.
In the NBA Finals.
O’Neal mentioned Brunson in the same vein as former league MVP Allen Iverson in touting the Knicks star as one of this season’s NBA All-Star starters in the East.
“I chose Jalen Brunson. They talk about him being a small guard and not being able to carry a team, but he’s a terrible cuss,” O’Neal said on Inside the NBA on TNT on Tuesday, Jan. 23. “And he plays great. ball, so I wanted to give him the nod. Donovan Mitchell will be there too. He’s playing great too, but I haven’t seen a small guy do what he wants since Iverson. So I like Brunson.”
O’Neal with Kobe Bryant on his side beat Iverson in the 2001 NBA Finals in five games. The Los Angeles Lakers finished 15-1 in the postseason that year and their only loss came at the hands of Iverson’s Philadelphia 76ers. Iverson averaged a series-best 35.6 points against the Lakers.
While Iverson and Brunson are both small guards, they dominated in different ways.