Why Jalen Brunson’s Spot in the NBA Player Rankings is Sparking Furious Debate

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Fresh off snapping a 53-year championship drought for the New York Knicks and capturing the 2026 NBA Finals MVP, Jalen Brunson has undeniably reached the mountaintop of basketball lore. Yet, as the upcoming NBA season approaches and media outlets roll out their annual top player rankings, “Captain Clutch” finds himself staring at a surprisingly familiar sight: being severely underrated.

ESPN’s freshly released NBA Top 100 list, as well as prominent rankings from analysts like The Ringer and Jason Timpf, have widely slotted Brunson at No. 6 overall. To place the reigning Finals MVP—a player who just dragged the Knicks to a title alongside Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Hart—outside the top five has ignited fierce pushback from fans and analysts alike, with ESPN’s Tim MacMahon publicly blasting the placement as a massive oversight.

How does a player with Brunson’s resume over the past three years land at No. 6? And is the ranking justified, or just another chapter of disrespect?

The grand finale 🍿

The NBA Rank Top 10 is HERE, and just three voting points separated the top three ⤵️https://t.co/9GYtMNCfWD pic.twitter.com/8YEBa5vuyj

— ESPN (@espn) September 24, 2026

The Case for the Top Five

If basketball is ultimately about winning and producing when the lights are brightest, Brunson’s resume over the past three seasons is nearly unmatched. Since arriving in New York in 2022, he has transformed a dormant franchise into an absolute juggernaut.

His 2025–26 campaign was the stuff of legends. Not only did he win the 2025 NBA Cup and its MVP, but he followed it up with a historic postseason run. Brunson led the entire 2026 playoff field in scoring at 28.4 points per game and delivered a staggering 14 clutch shots. In the fourth quarter of playoff games, he averaged 10 points on 56% shooting from the field and 53% from deep. When evaluating his three-year trajectory—culminating in an Eastern Conference Finals MVP, a Finals MVP, and the 2026 Championship—many argue he has eclipsed regular-season darlings who crumble in May.

The Justification for No. 6

For the analysts slotting him behind players like Nikola Jokić, Luka Dončić, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and phenom Victor Wembanyama, the argument against Brunson centers entirely on regular-season efficiency and physical tools.

The Production Gap: While Brunson is a dominant offensive engine, his regular-season statistics occasionally dip below the hyper-efficient standard set by Dončić and Gilgeous-Alexander. Last season, Brunson averaged an excellent 26 points and 6.8 assists per game, but his 58% true shooting percentage fell short of the league’s top tier.
Consistency: Brunson’s regular season featured dramatic peaks and valleys. During a fiery 19-game stretch from November to December, he averaged 31 points on 61% true shooting. However, over his final 46 games, his production dipped to 24 points on sub-57% true shooting, leading rankers to penalize him for a lack of sustained, super-high-level regular-season dominance.
Defensive Ceiling: At 6-foot-2, Brunson will never have the sheer two-way impact of a giant like Wembanyama. While he has become an incredibly smart, mistake-free cog in New York’s defensive system, he lacks the athletic versatility of taller wings and bigs.

The Verdict

Placing Jalen Brunson at No. 6 is a philosophical choice. It values wire-to-wire regular-season statistical dominance and physical ceilings over playoff heroics and leadership intangibles. However, for a player who just conquered the NBA landscape, silenced every critic, and brought a title back to Madison Square Garden, regular-season efficiency metrics feel trivial. The lists may say No. 6, but in the clutch, there is no one in the sport you would rather have taking the final shot.

For Knicks fans, it’s a slap in the face. Yes, the other guys have stats, and yes, they are more athletic wings and bigs. But isn’t the ultimate goal a championship? Haven’t we always said it doesn’t matter what you do in the regular season if you fall on your face in the postseason? Yet, Brunson has delivered, done it better than anyone at crunch time. Then, when the odds, the world, and the Spurs stood in his way, he vanquished them in 5. Oh, put up 45 to close it out.

#6?????? As a New Yorker would say, “Fuhgettaboutit.”