Knicks' Jalen Brunson Shuts Down Foul-Baiting Accusations

Diffusing the Statistical Notion

Brunson hasn't been immune to the same criticisms that followed the multi-level scoring, rim-challenging lead scoring guards who similarly test referees, with fans recycling the same names that they throw at Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, as well as James Harden before them.

But as Brunson explains to Lou Williams and Spank Horton, he's remaining upright and not throwing himself into a defender. That's where NBA viewers get into arguments over the "ethics" of basketball, discrediting those with the desire and skillset to get the line and pad their stats with free throws.

Those aforementioned big stages, the kind that Brunson and Gilgeous-Alexander spent the 2025 playoffs performing on and alternative acts of scoring artistry with the occasional off-balance manipulation of a defender, only magnify such labels, but it's here where Brunson's reputation gets the better of him.

Unlike infamous "grifters" like SGA, the older Harden or even Jimmy Butler, who average anywhere between seven and 10 free throws per contest across recent seasons, Brunson's only making 6.8 trips to the line on a nightly basis. For context, while everyone else mentioned is in the top-10 of average free throw attempts, Brunson's mark is just the 25th-ranked mark in the league. It's not nearly as much of a crutch as some make it out to be, accounting for under a quarter of his scoring average.

Watching Brunson's head fake and fall can't be fun for opposing defenses when he's getting the calls that he knows he's technically entitled to, according to the rulebook, but he's clearly aware of how much his detractors hate watching this part of his game.

And though the instances in which he does indulge in intentional foul-drawing can look obvious, he'd be correct in pointing out that these account for a mere fraction of his rim drives, even if his arguments as to the legitimacy of his intentions remain in the eye of the beholder.