The New York Knicks are just two wins away from snapping a 53-year title drought, and the stars may be aligning for them to finally have a breakthrough decades in the making. Should the Knicks go all the way, everyone will be pointing to their free-agent acquisition of Jalen Brunson back in 2022 as the turning point for this franchise.
Many have doubted Brunson's viability as the number one option on a championship-caliber team. Some are arguing that he's too small and guards of his ilk don't tend to be the biggest star on a title-winning squad.
But Brunson has been turning the discourse in his favor with the way he's been leading the Knicks in this year's playoffs — with former NBA champion Paul Pierce even believing that he should be higher than Kyrie Irving on the all-time legacy leaderboard.
“I’ve never seen a Kyrie lead team win a title. And as great as Kyrie has been in his career, there’s gonna be some tough conversations made if or when the Knicks win this title about Jalen Brunson and where he stands in NBA history as one of the better guards,” Pierce said in an appearance on the No Fouls Given show.
Paul Pierce says if Jalen Brunson wins a title, he’s better All-Time than Kyrie Irving:
“I’ve never seen a Kyrie lead team win a title. And as great as Kyrie has been in his career, there’s gonna be some tough conversations made if or when the Knicks win this title about Jalen… https://t.co/Hjq9VRDZaC pic.twitter.com/z6DgWmi35Y
— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) June 8, 2026
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Irving is one of the most clutch players in the history of the NBA, although he hasn't been the best player on his team like Brunson has been for the Knicks for more than a decade. The last time Irving was the undisputed alpha on his team was the 2018-19 campaign, his final season with the Boston Celtics.
That Celtics team flamed out due to a poor combination of personalities, and that squad failed to make it out of the second round of the playoffs. Irving has experienced the most team success of his career when supporting a bigger star like LeBron James or Luka Doncic.
Meanwhile, Brunson has been, without a doubt, the Knicks' best player since arriving. He also took a pay cut to help the front office assemble the most talented roster they could. And it's paying off, so Pierce truly might be on to something.
The New York Knicks are just two wins away from snapping a 53-year title drought, and the stars may be aligning for them to finally have a breakthrough decades in the making. Should the Knicks go all the way, everyone will be pointing to their free-agent acquisition of Jalen Brunson back in 2022 as the turning point for this franchise.