Knicks duo third-most efficient 1-2 punch in NBA history

A quarter into the new season, the Knicks own the No. 1 offense in the NBA, scoring an impressive 121.0 points per 100 possessions. The two driving forces of the Knicks offense — Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns — are each averaging over 25 points per game while maintaining true shooting percentages of over 60. 

Only two other duos in NBA history have shot that efficiently while averaging over 25 per game — Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry (Warriors) and Larry Bird and Kevin McHale (Celtics). To put things in perspective, there have been 30 duos in history who each averaged 25+ PPG, and Brunson-Towns is the third most efficient of the lot.

While Brunson-Towns is technically the fourth highest-scoring duo in Knicks history, it is far and away the most efficient.

Highest Knicks scoring duos in history:
1. Richie Guerin & Willie Naulls in 1961-62 (54.5 PPG, .493 TS%)
2. Brunson & Julius Randle in 2023-24 (52.7 PPG, .581 TS%)
3. Carmelo Anthony & Amar'e Stoudemire in 2010-11 (51.6 PPG, .570 TS%)
4. Brunson & Towns in 2024-25 (50.3 PPG, .631 TS%)
5. Randle & Brunson in 2022-23 (49.1 PPG, .589 TS%)

The beauty of the Brunson-Towns tandem is they're feeding off of each other. The pair is producing a whopping 1.314 points per pick-and-roll possession, per Second Spectrum, which is nearly half a point more than Anthony Davis-LeBron James and De'Aaron Fox-Domantas Sabonis. And over the past 10 games, Tom Thibodeau has repeatedly called for the Brunson-Towns PNR since it has done nothing but wreak havoc on defenses.