As soon as Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks completed their five-game victory over the San Antonio Spurs to win the 2026 NBA Finals, a lot of people started looking to Becky Hammon for an apology.
It sounds like they’re still not going to get one.
The Las Vegas Aces coach and ESPN analyst still doesn’t feel she needs to apologize for her 2023 comments that 2026 NBA Finals MVP Jalen Brunson wasn’t a “1A” star and that the Knicks weren’t an elite team.
“They don’t have enough personnel, they don’t have the manpower that they need to hang with those guys,” Hammon told Malika Andrews in 2023. “I think you’re going to get a consistent team like they’ve been, they’re a pretty good team. They’re well-coached, they’re going to be on their defensive game, but at the end of the day, they don’t have a dude. You gotta have a dude, you gotta have a 1A dude, and they’re missing that at the end of the day if we’re just getting down to brass tacks.”
As for whether or not the 6’2″ Brunson could lead the Knicks to a championship, Hammon was blunt.
“If your best player is small, you’re not winning,” she said.
Becky Hammon on why the Knicks can’t win a championship:
“They don’t have a dude… you got to have a 1A dude.”
Perkins: “They do have that dude…Jalen Brunson.”
Hammon: “He too small. If your best player is small, you’re not winning.” pic.twitter.com/E5Y6oZYO7u
— Hater Report (@HaterReport) June 14, 2026
Hammon was proven wrong this month when Brunson was the catalyst for the franchise’s first NBA title since 1973.
On Tuesday, Hammon finally broke her silence on whether or not Brunson proved her wrong, saying that the Knicks star is an outlier, but she still stands by her comments.
“Jalen, all he did was prove history wrong; he proves he’s an outlier,” Hammon said following the Aces’ shootaround, via the New York Post’s Madeline Kenney. “So you can put his name next to Steph Curry and Isiah Thomas, and I thought he played brilliantly, especially down the stretch.
“I mean, he was that 1A dude. But apologize? I’m never gonna apologize for having an opinion. That’s what ESPN pays me for.”
Hammon made similar comments in May when the Knicks were in the midst of their historic playoff push, saying that she was speaking about Brunson and the Knicks from a historical perspective.
“I’m speaking historically on the NBA with what I said,” Hammon said in May. “I don’t know why everybody’s so stuck on that. I said it two years ago; I stand by it. There’s no air to be cleared. I said what I said. (If) he proves me wrong, he proves me wrong. Good for him.”
Knicks’ player Mikal Bridges said last week that while Brunson would never admit it, her comments motivated him to be great.
Whether Hammon wants to admit it or not, Brunson did indeed prove her and NBA history wrong.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.