After bringing the championship to the New York Knicks to end a 53-year drought, it’s safe to say that Jalen Brunson is already right up there as an absolute Knick legend. However, where does this exceptional accolade put him in the Knicks’ all-time players list?
Brunson Already in the Top 4
After a fantastic 2025–26 campaign, it’s undeniable that Brunson is a fringe top four Knicks all-time player. In just four seasons, the Brunson Burner did what both Carmelo Anthony and Patrick Ewing failed to do—win an NBA championship. And even better, he won Finals MVP.
In his stint with the Knicks, Brunson was a 3-time All-NBA guard, 3-time All-Star, and the 2025 Clutch Player of the Year awardee. He may have surpassed Melo in such a short span, but it’s hard to put him above the great Patrick Ewing. The legendary center’s résumé as the Knicks’ superstar in the ’90s cannot be taken lightly. In 15 seasons in New York, Ewing was a seven-time All-NBA, three-time All-Defense, and eleven-time All-Star, which led to him becoming an NBA Hall of Famer and a member of the league’s best 75 players.
Don’t Sleep on Mr. Ewing
Had Ewing won a championship—which he was very close to winning twice in 1994 and 1999—he’d automatically become the GOAT (Greatest of All Time) of the franchise. Still, in the hearts and minds of many Knicks fans, Patrick Ewing is one of the best to ever don the uniform. That is why it’s tough to put Brunson above him for now, just because of recency bias.
On the other hand, Willis Reed and Walt “Clyde” Frazier are still arguably the best New York Knicks players ever. If we’re looking at dominance in the regular season and playoffs, Reed takes the upper hand as he happens to be the only Knick to win MVP. Not Ewing, not Frazier, not Anthony. In his historic 1969-1970 season, Reed won the regular season MVP, the All-Star Game MVP, and Finals MVP. More impressively, The Captain did it in an era that featured legendary centers such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Bob McAdoo, and many more.
