WASHINGTON — Take it from the man who supposedly put it together — there was no players-only meeting.
After ESPN reported two weeks ago that Jalen Brunson summoned his teammates to discuss the importance of accountability, the Knicks reversed their struggles by reeling off six consecutive victories.
However, Brunson said he merely spoke up after a bad loss to the Mavericks and during the short time before Mike Brown entered the locker room.
“It was just me voicing my opinion after the game against Dallas,” Brunson said Tuesday. “It wasn’t me calling a team meeting. We meet after games. I said something before coach walked in. That’s it.”
Brunson and the Knicks similarly talked amongst themselves after an ugly defeat in Detroit on Jan. 5. That was part of a stretch of nine losses over 11 games, which was followed by the “players-only meeting” and the rediscovery of a strong defense.
Previously, Josh Hart also said there was no such meeting.
“We talked but it wasn’t like, some …. thing. That got dragged,” Hart said. “We didn’t have a players-only meeting.”
Brunson entered Monday as the Eastern Conference leader in charges drawn with 13. He also finished No. 1 in the East the last two seasons.
“It’s something I’ve always done,” Brunson said. “I think it not only does a lot for your team, it’s a turnover, you get the ball, it can be a momentum swing for you. It’s an offensive foul, you get the ball back ,it could be big for your team in terms of momentum and getting the ball.”
Hart said he remembers Brunson taking charges at Villanova but that wasn’t unique because “everyone did it at ‘Nova.” But Hart acknowledged it’s not easy.
“Obviously you need to have good awareness of where you’re supposed to be defensively,” Hart said. “If you’re on help side and those kinds of things. And then obviously sacrificing your body to take a charge. So obviously there’s a level of skill and intelligence that comes with it.”