Former Knick Says Team Needs To Make A Change With Jalen Brunson

Where would the New York Knicks be without Jalen Brunson's 35 minutes a night during the regular season and close to 40 minutes a night during the playoffs?

According to former Knicks guard Iman Shumpert, they'd actually be even better if they'd only back off of leaning on Brunson so heavily every night from start to finish (h/t Anne Erickson of heavy.com).

"As much as we love Jalen Brunson I think his usage has to go down little bit for [Mikal & others] to flourish…You still want him to be who he is–have to be ball dominant sometimes…Pick your spots…4th quarters…Throughout game share the sugar little bit more"

– Iman Shumpert pic.twitter.com/e1AqC7uaJY
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) August 2, 2025

"As much as we love Jalen Brunson," said Shumpert, "I think his usage has to go down a little bit for [Mikal Bridges & others] to flourish…You still want him to be who he is—you have to be ball dominant sometimes…

"But when you say pick your spots, we're talking about 4th quarters as the time to do that. Throughout the game, you can make sure you share the sugar a little bit more.

"It's easier (for Brunson) to make sure to say, 'hey man, I'm gonna let you have this, gonna let y'all have that, we can all still get our numbers... (but) towards the end of the game, you guys know I'm gonna have to have the ball in my hands a bit more.'"

Between Karl-Anthony Towns (24.4 points per game), Mikal Bridges (17.6 ppg) and OG Anunoby (18 ppg), the team has plenty of other finishers to help with Brunson's load.

The Knicks have advanced just a little bit further each season since Brunson took over the point, going six games in the second round of the playoffs in his first year, seven games in the second year, then making it to the Conference Finals this past season.

Brunson averaged 40 points a night in his first two playoff runs with the Knicks, and 38 minutes this year. He won Clutch Player of the Year for the 2024-25 regular season, averaging 26 points per game, 7.3 assists and 38% from long distance. In the postseason, he averaged 29.4 ppg, 7.0 apg, and 35.8% from three.