SAN ANTONIO — Kenny Smith, a product of Lefrak City in Queens and the concrete courts across the boroughs, perfectly explained Jalen Brunson’s impact. It’s not just the experience of a single championship. It was the reinvigoration of NYC’s enthusiasm for a team, a sport and an ability to unite around something even after politics infiltrated MSG.
“I called it the lamp that was plugged in with no power,” Smith, the two-time NBA champ and current ESPN analyst, said Saturday. “There was no power in New York. And he brought the power.”
Brunson is certainly in the conversation for greatest Knick ever after leading the franchise to its first title in 53 years. But Clyde Frazier and Willis Reed are still winning the ring count, so it’ll remain an ongoing debate until Brunson wins another title or two.
Then, of course, the debate widens to something else — with Brunson chasing Stephen Curry or Isiah Thomas in the highest pantheon of small guards.
