New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson is one of the top players in the league, and he has proven on several occasions that he can score at will from nearly any spot on the court.
Knicks’ Jalen Brunson shuts down foul-baiting narrative
However, his ability to draw fouls garners a lot of attention, especially since some of his tactics can seem unnatural to a casual viewer. However, Brunson was quick to debunk the theory that he is a flopper and a foul baiter, stating in an appearance on The Underground Lounge that he is not hunting fouls.
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“I’m not a foul baiter. I just play by the rules,” he said in an appearance on The Underground Lounge. “Be disciplined on defense. Don’t reach… go watch the film.”
To further disprove that theory, Brunson gets to the line at a high rate, but not nearly at the highest. He averages 6.8 free throw attempts per game for the Knicks this season, which ranks 24th in the league and is relatively standard for a player who takes on the majority of the scoring load.
Brunson has shown he can score in a variety of ways
Additionally, Brunson is not the league leader in drives to the basket. He has a total of 410 drives this season, which ranks sixth in the NBA and is 144 drives short of Deni Avdija, the league leader in drives with 554.
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Brunson also converts over 52% of his drives, which, for a guard of his size, is an elite figure. Drawing fouls is a skill, especially for someone like Brunson who is at a significant size disadvantage. He deserves credit for finding other ways to score to benefit his Knicks team outside of getting free points at the charity stripe.
The narrative about his tactics will continue as long as he is dominating the competition in front of him, but so far, he is disproving the foul baiting theory in real time.