Knicks' Jalen Brunson Creeping Closer to MVP Favorites

But even for a player like Brunson, who's finally established himself as a top-10 player after years of dependably-clutch performances in the regular season and playoffs both, he's got a long way to go before he wins the 82 game slate's highest individual honor.

A recent straw poll conducted by ESPN revealed that while the media is in general agreement that he's a top-five candidate through the first third of the season, a few upstart names and repeat winners have been a bit more intriguing.

"Make no mistake: If New York achieves its championship aspirations in June, it will be Brunson leading them there," Tim Bontemps claimed in rationalizing his No. 5 ranking for Brunson. "And as he enters the top five in straw poll voting for the first time, his first-year coach continues to push for Brunson's inclusion in MVP conversations."

"When you guys start talking about MVP candidates, [I hope] his name is one of the first that comes out of your mouth," Mike Brown said after the Knicks' Cup title win. "Because on this stage, to go get it done while winning, is what in my opinion an MVP is all about."

Stiff Competition

Cade Cunningham just beat Brunson out in the poll, with his Detroit Pistons having posted a superior record to the Knicks through 25 games. With that being said, the Knicks have been hot ever since their slow start, and Brunson still holds the personal upper-hand over Cunningham after handily out-playing the rising star in their first-round playoff bout last spring.

From then on, though, Brunson's just up against a different class of player. His former teammate-turned-perennial MVP candidate, Luka Doncic, is leading the league in scoring with a career-high 35.2 points a night, but even he's struggling to get past 3x winner Nikola Jokic and the reigning MVP and Finals MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

While Jokic leads the league in both assists (10.9) and rebounds (12.3), SGA is well on the path to captaining the best regular season win total of all time behind his 25-2 Oklahoma City Thunder. As thrilling as Brunson's been on a rejuvenated Knicks team, those are steep hills to climb.