jalen brunson
Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
New York Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson has been so dominant in the postseason that he’s actually surpassed the legendary Michael Jordan in one key metric: clutch scoring. In terms of the data, clutch is defined as being “the last five minutes of a game with a score margin of five points or less.”
A post shared to social media by Sportico‘s Lev Akabas shows that Jalen Brunson has surpassed Michael Jordan in both Total Clutch FGA (Field Goal Attempts) and Effective FG% (Field Goal Percentage).
New York Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson has become a more clutch postseason scorer than Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Steph Curry, Kobe Bryant, and more
Other players that Brunson has surpassed in the data set include Steph Curry, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, Kevin Durant, Dwyane Wade, Damian Lillard, Luka Doncic, Carmelo Anthony, Nikola Jokic, James Harden, Reggie Miller, Chris Paul, Jimmy Butler, and more.
Jalen Brunson’s clutch scoring in the playoffs is literally Michael Jordan-level pic.twitter.com/DSKvTWXI9x
— Lev Akabas (@LevAkabas) June 3, 2026
Brunson, who helped lead the New York Knicks to their first NBA Finals since 1999, has averaged 25.6 points, 5.6 assists and 3.7 rebounds in 81 games in the playoffs in his career. He was named Eastern Conference Finals MVP after averaging 27.8 points and 6.7 assists against the Cavaliers.
Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals between Brunson’s New York Knicks and Victor Wembanyama’s Spurs tips-off from San Antonio tonight — Wednesday, June 3 — at 8:30 p.m. EST. The Knicks enter the game as underdogs, with the moneyline odds hovering around +170 and the point-spread sitting at +4.5.
The New York Knicks haven’t won the NBA title in over 50 years, last lifting the title in 1973. The Spurs, on the other hand, have won five NBA championships since 1999, with their latest coming in 2014 — which was the franchise’s last appearance in the NBA Finals.