Shaquille O’Neal concedes Charles Barkley was right about Jalen Brunson

Following the New York Knicks’ championship-clinching victory in Game 5 of the 2026 NBA Finals on Saturday night in San Antonio, Shaquille O’Neal admitted that he needed to concede something to ESPN Inside the NBA broadcast teammate Charles Barkley.

According to O’Neal, it turns out that when Jalen Brunson signed with the New York Knicks in 2022, it was the best free-agent move in NBA history.

“Charles, I owe you an apology. You’ve been saying for the past two years that Brunson has been the best free-agent signing ever. Now it is. Now it becomes that,” O’Neal said during Inside the NBA following Game 5.

Here’s a longer video of the interaction:

Shaq apologized to Charles Barkley for doubting him on Jalen Brunson being the greatest free agency signing in NBA history.

“Charles, I owe you an apology. You’ve been saying for the past two years that Brunson has been the best free agency signing ever. Now, it is. Now it… pic.twitter.com/OYNvXWnnYA

— NBA Base (@TheNBABase) June 14, 2026

What makes Brunson so notable is how few people expected him to make the impact that he did with the Knicks. With the Dallas Mavericks, Brunson was never a superstar. He was mostly a reserve until the 2021-22 season, his final year with Dallas. Even as a starter with the Mavs, Brunson averaged only 16.3 points per game.

In his first four seasons as a Knick, Brunson has averaged 24.0, 28.7, 26.0, and 26.0 points per game, respectively. He has averaged more than six assists per game in each of those four seasons; he never averaged more than 4.8 with the Mavericks.

So, while the Brunson free-agent signing was not an already bona fide superstar acquisition like when LeBron James signed with the Miami Heat in 2010, or Kevin Durant signed with the Golden Warriors in 2016, it may be even more impressive because of the player Brunson has developed into.

JALEN BRUNSON AND THE KNICKS ARE TRYING TO CLOSE IT OUT!

Mike Breen has the ESPN on ABC call. 🏀🔥🎙️ pic.twitter.com/7l2085usp9

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 14, 2026

Barkley made this point, advancing this argument a few weeks ago.

“He’s turned them into a perennial contender,” Barkley explained. “They went from never being talked about to the conference champions… Now they’re in the Finals because of Brunson.”

Brunson, the NBA Finals MVP, went off for 45 points in Game 5 to lead the Knicks to their first title since 1973.