LeBron James gave the Knicks their flowers on Thursday and pinpointed the changes that helped them win the NBA Finals.
James said that last year, the Knicks ran a lot of Jalen Brunson-centric offense, but an adjustment by first-year coach Mike Brown changed everything.
“I think they diversified their offensive portfolio. It was a lot of Jalen Brunson picks and rolls last year, and it allowed the defense to kind of key in on him,” James began during a live recording of his “Mind the Game” podcast at Fanatics Fest.
“I think what Mike Brown brought in was the little pinch post to get the ball to Karl-Anthony Towns in the pinch post area, or at the top of the key, and let him be in the hub. And yes, at the end of the day, it would still get to Jalen Brunson, but it didn’t allow you to just sit on one action.”
That change came after the Knicks fell into a 2-1 hole in their opening-round series against the Hawks. The Knicks went on to win the final three against Atlanta, sweep the 76ers and Cavaliers to reach the NBA Finals before slaying the Spurs in five games to win the franchise’s first championship since 1973.
Brunson was surely the Knicks’ best player last season, leading the team through a long regular season in which they mostly stayed healthy, unlike in years past.
“We know the glue guys like [Jose] Alvarado, Josh Hart, and Mikail Bridges, but obviously the unsung hero of the whole finals run was OG Anunoby,” James said.
Anunoby had the NBA Finals-changing play when he tipped home the game-winner in the final seconds of Game 4 after the Knicks rallied from 29 points down.
The Knicks put together an incredible run to the NBA Finals, and James points out that they had the best point differential in NBA Playoff history, at 14.9 points per game.
James is still trying to figure out which team he is going to play for during the upcoming season as he hopes to compete for a title in his age-42 season.
His agent, Rich Paul, had previously said that if the Knicks hadn’t won the title, James wouldn’t be looking at a board of teams to play for.
“He’d be going to the Knicks,” Paul said on his “Game Over” podcast earlier this month.
With the Knicks appearing uninterested in a James-Knicks union, the team has done a good job of bringing the band back together, having lost only backup center Mitchell Robinson to the rival Celtics thus far in free agency.
