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Feb 29, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) watches his three point shot against New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) during the third quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Knicks Star Snubbed From Top Lead Guard Tier

Originally posted on New York Knicks on SI
By Henry Brown | Last updated Aug 21, 2025 9:00 AM ET

Jalen Brunson has come a long way since joining the New York Knicks, emerging as a fringe-All-Star with his new team before stacking together several MVP-caliber seasons. He's now a top-10 player in the league, with clutch shooting and increasingly deeper playoff runs solidifying him as one of the best scorers in the game.

When it's time to rank players by position, though, that respect looks a lot harder to convey. Brunson is largely considered a point guard; he averaged a career-high 7.3 assists last season, but he's generally looking to score when he has the ball, and his stubby 6'2 build makes it harder for him to realistically play any other position.

Unfortunately for Brunson, the point guard position is arguably the most loaded in the league, and he has a lot of impressive competition to line up against when listing the best 1-guards in the NBA. The Athletic demonstrated this with their lead guard ranking, where Brunson fell just short of the top tier.

Zach Harper listed Brunson as the fourth-best point man in the league. The top tier, "The MVPs," had Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luka Doncic and Stephen Curry, in that order, with Brunson ringing in as the first name in the "Battle Royale of the Top Guards."

Former Dallas Mavericks Guards Jalen Brunson and Luka Doncic Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

He still topped Tyrese Haliburton, a little moral win against another top young point guard who's outlasted Brunson in back-to-back playoff runs, but getting labeled a level below the highest tier requires a bit of double-checking.

"Curry is still right there with them, considering how he affects the game and bends the court," Harper rationalized. "Brunson is mostly a scorer, but he's arguably the most clutch player in the league."

Neither Cury not Brunson are true point guards, both generally looking to get theirs. While Brunson spends more time on the ball, Curry flies around screens in attempting to get the better of clingy defenses. If Brunson's getting marked for being mostly a scorer, Curry should be, too, especially given their statistical matchups.

Curry's getting older, and it's showing in the scoring burden he once managed to shoulder every night. His point per game averages have gone down across three straight seasons, as have his field goal attempts, makes and three-point percentage, even though those categories remain well above league average for his position.

Brunson, meanwhile, has hung with Curry statistically while recently outdoing him as a scorer, and he's averaging more dimes per game than the Golden State legend has since 2013-14.

Gilgeous-Alexander and Doncic are significantly tougher to dispute for the Brunson camp, with the pair of MVP-candidates taking turns representing the Western Conference in the last two NBA Finals series. SGA at the top makes sense after his MVP and Finals MVP-winning season, while Doncic is attempting to find stability following his world-shaking trade.

This article first appeared on New York Knicks on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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