Peter Okereke
Las Vegas Aces coach Becky Hammon infamously said in 2023 that NBA star Jalen Brunson was “too small” to lead a championship team. On Tuesday, she again doubled down on her previous comment, saying she won’t apologize to Brunson, who recently led the New York Knicks to their first title in 53 years.
In her media availability session ahead of the Aces’ game against the New York Liberty on Tuesday, Hammon addressed her viral remarks about Brunson.
“Jalen, all he did was prove history wrong,” Hammon said. “He proves he’s an outlier. So, you can put his name next to Steph Curry and Isaiah Thomas, and I thought he played brilliantly, especially down the stretch.”
“I mean, he was that 1A dude, but like, apologize, I’m never gonna apologize for having an opinion, that’s what ESPN pays me for,” she added.
During an episode of ESPN’s “NBA Today” back in 2023, Becky Hammon said the Jalen Brunson is not a “1A dude” because he is “too small.” While she acknowledged that Brunson is the Knicks’ superstar, she believed that he is not capable of leading a championship team.
But Brunson’s teammate, Josh Hart, said in Saturday’s episode of “The Roommates” podcast that he is still waiting for an apology from someone. Several fans believed that Hart was referring to Hammon.
“I’m not naming names,” Hart said. “I’m still waiting for somebody to say they were wrong about someone who led our team to a final championship at 53 years. I’m still waiting for something. … We’ll be waiting for that apology.”
Jalen Brunson led the New York Knicks to a historic championship win last month, sweeping aside the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals as they won the series 4-1 to bring the trophy to the Madison Square Garden.
