By Ed Odeven

What makes Jalen Brunson such an impactful player on offense?

“Poised” and “versatile” are words that immediately come to mind.

New York Knicks teammates and head coach Mike Brown along with San Antonio players spoke about Brunson’s dynamic play on Sunday, an off day during the ongoing NBA Finals. (The Knicks lead 2-0 in the best-of-seven series. Game 3 is on Monday in New York.)

Knicks forward OG Anunoby pointed out that Brunson maintains an even keel on the basketball court.

“He uses a lot of counters,” Anunoby told reporters. “He’s relentless. Doesn’t matter if he is missing shots or making shots, he’s always the same way, always composed and poised and always aggressive.”

New York big man Karl-Anthony Towns noted that Brunson’s polished offensive repertoire starts with solid fundamentals.

“He has great footwork,” Towns said. “His footwork when he gets into the paint and his ability to manipulate the offense and be deceptive in his dribbling and his attack and his pull-up game as well, it truly makes him tough to guard.

“Then when he finally gets into the paint he uses physicality to create space, to get his floater off or to get a scoop layup.”

Brunson, 29, averaged 26.0 points per game in the regular season. During the playoffs, he’s averaging 26.6.

In Game 1 of the Finals, Brunson scored 30 points on 12-for-31 shooting in the Knicks’ 105-95 win. He had 13 points in the pivotal fourth quarter. The Villanova University product finished with 20 points on 7-for-25 shooting in Game 2, a 105-104 New York road triumph.

Coach Brown’s insights

During his interview session with reporters on Sunday, Brown was asked the following: “What would you say is Jalen’s kind of superpower as an offensive player, his superior skill set? Can you remember when you first took note of him and thought this second-round pick is actually pretty good?”

Brown, a former head coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings before becoming the Knicks bench boss in 2025, shared observations from his days working for the Golden State Warriors (2016-22).

“When I first took notice of him, I was defensive coordinator in Golden State. We had to play against Dallas. I remember the first couple times we played against them, we put a guard on him. I was amazed. Because when you look at him, you’re like, okay, he’s not the biggest guy, not the most athletic guy, not the quickest guy. OK, you can put a 6-4, 6-5 guy on him, you’ll be okay. No.

“We put guys 6-6, 6-7 on him. He got to his spot methodically. He put his back shoulder on them, he still scored. When we played him in the playoffs, Luka [Doncic] is great, an all-time great, he’s going to probably go down for sure as a top-10 player, maybe top five, I don’t know. As a defensive coordinator, this is just me, going into that series, my concern wasn’t Luka, my concern was Jalen.

“We put Draymond Green on Jalen. That’s how concerned we were. Because we needed a bigger, stronger, tougher guy to try to do it or to try to slow him down at that time.

“Jalen didn’t shoot as many threes, he didn’t play as many pick and rolls because the ball was in Luka’s hands.

“Now it’s different. If you put a power forward on him, he’s in a ball screen, out in transition, he can score from all three levels. He does it with a patience that you embrace as a coach because it’s not hurried and frantic all the time. It always seems like he’s in control, which helps you as a coach be in control, which helps his teammates be in control.

“He’s been a problem in this league for a long time.”

In praise of Brunson

Spurs swingman Devin Vassell acknowledged that Brunson is an excellent clutch shooter, adding that the Knicks superstar is a tough defensive assignment.

“Yeah, it feels like those are the moments that he lives for, especially in the fourth quarter, clutch,” Vassell said on Sunday. “I feel like we’re doing a really good job on him, making him shoot some tough shots all throughout the game. Even those clutch shots are very tough shots that he’s been hitting.

“I don’t think there’s really much that you can change, coverages you can change. I mean, we’re forcing him into some really tough shots. So it’s a challenge and we’re excited for it because, like you said, we’re doing a really good job on him.”

Spurs rookie guard Dylan Harper, whose father Ron won five NBA titles during his playing days, said Brunson has brandished his reputation as a clutch shooter in this championship series.

“I mean, he’s a great player,” Harper told a news conference. “I feel like he kind of likes moments like that. He steps up in those big moments. I think for us we have to keep doubling down on our game plan, kind of just seeing what works and just keep going to that.

“So he makes big shots. That’s kind of the type of player he is. But for us, we can’t get too down on things like that. We got to just keep on applying the pressure.”

San Antonio guard veteran De’Aaron Fox insisted that Brunson’s overall body of work in the playoffs is a major reason the Knicks advanced to the Finals.

“You watch him, (and) he has some of the best footwork in the game,” Fox commented. “Obviously, he’s a tough shot-maker. He can really shoot the ball. He’s strong. Talk about his size, yeah, he’s not tall, but he’s strong and he knows how to get to his spots. He plays angles well.

“But we’ve done, I think, a good job on him through the course of the game, but he’s made big shots. He’s been a Clutch Player of the Year, obviously. Probably the biggest reason why they’re here. But we have to continue to try to make it tough on him, and I think we’re doing a pretty good job at that. He’s played well despite that.”