New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson won the 2024-25 NBA Clutch Player of the Year Award, the league announced on Wednesday. He edged out a talented group of finalists that included Nikola Jokic and Anthony Edwards.
Brunson joined NBA on TNT to talk about earning the award, and he shared that being clutch wasn’t something he was born with — it was something he had to learn and develop.
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When Ernie Johnson asked whether the clutch gene was something he naturally had, Brunson responded:
“I think some people were born into it. I think I had to learn it. I learned back in high school. I kind of got better and better at each stage, and here we are.”
Jalen Brunson earned 70 first-place votes, 24 second-place votes and four third-place votes for a total of 426 points. Jokic was the runner-up with 312 points, Anthony Edwards placed third with 47 and Trae Young was a close fourth with 44.
According to the league’s announcement, Brunson led the NBA in clutch scoring this season, averaging 5.6 points on 51.5% shooting in crunch time — defined as the last five minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime with a margin of five points or fewer.
He also led the league in clutch field goals made (52), finished second in total clutch points (156) and ranked third in assists (28) during those moments. He helped the Knicks go 17-11 in games decided in the clutch..
To Jalen Brunson, the real measure of being clutch is winning.
“Just finding a way to win,” he said. “I think that’s just most important. You can have clutch plays, but I mean, that doesn’t mean anything if you don’t win. I think the winning part is most important for me.”
Clutch Player of the Year Jalen Brunson on what the Knicks need to fix in their series vs. the Pistons
After years away from the playoffs, the Detroit Pistons have returned and now face the Knicks in a first-round matchup. Through two games, the Pistons have shown plenty of fight, building leads in both contests—though they couldn’t hold on in Game 1, they secured a win in Game 2.
In both matchups, the Knicks found themselves trailing early, and Jalen Brunson said the team has to address that issue.
“Most importantly, just starting fast,” he said. “I think they’ve got the better of us starting the game, (in) Games 1 and 2. We’ve had to climb back in both games, and obviously, the other night, we didn’t do so by finishing off, but we gotta start off well.”
Game 3 is scheduled for Thursday at 7 p.m. ET and will be played at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.
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Edited by John Ezekiel Hirro
