Charles Oakley took a surprising shot at former teammate Patrick Ewing recently when comparing him with current Knickerbockers star Jalen Brunson.
Heading into the NBA games today, Jalen Brunson and the Knicks get a rest day following their disappointing Game 3 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Friday night. Despite the setback, the team has become the talk of the league because of their style of play and the outstanding postseason performances of the point guard.
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Brunson’s strong debut season in 2022-2023 followed by an MVP-level campaign in 2023-24 has started a unique debate among Knicks fans, especially because of how good he has been in the playoffs. And that is if Brunson has surpassed Patrick Ewing as the best player in Knicks history.
While it may take a few more seasons to make that a realistic debate, former New York fan-favorite Charles Oakley already believes Brunson is better than the 11-time All-Star and Hall-of-Famer in what major area, leadership.
“They said leadership was a big thing and Patrick wasn’t a great leader. Brunson, I think, was way more a leader,” Oakley told the Associated Press on Friday when explaining his recent comment that Brunson is the New York Knicks best player since Walt Frazier.
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Oakley has stayed away from Madison Square Garden for years after being forcefully removed from a game in 2017. He is currently in the midst of a lawsuit against Madison Square Garden and team owner James Dolan but revealed he was recently invited back to MSG. Unfortunately, he wants a formal apology from the Knicks boss before stepping back into the world’s most famous arena.
“Oak” played 10 seasons for the Knicks from 1988 to 1998, including being a teammate in the frontcourt with Ewing for all of those years. It is surprising that he would knock Ewing’s leadership since — like Brunson — he was by far the best player on his team for all those years. And he led New York to a trip to the Finals in 1994 and the playoffs for 13 straight seasons.
