{"id":33829,"date":"2025-05-15T03:13:11","date_gmt":"2025-05-15T03:13:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/33829\/"},"modified":"2025-05-15T03:13:11","modified_gmt":"2025-05-15T03:13:11","slug":"mentally-the-closest-to-kobe-gilbert-arenas-compares-jalen-brunson-to-los-angeles-lakers-legend-after-clutch-brilliance-in-new-york-knicks-playoff-push","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/33829\/","title":{"rendered":"“Mentally the closest to Kobe”: Gilbert Arenas compares Jalen Brunson to Los Angeles Lakers legend after clutch brilliance in New York Knicks\u2019 playoff push"},"content":{"rendered":"

\""MentallyJalen Brunson. Image via: Getty Images Jalen Brunson has stopped being just a breakout star for the Knicks. He\u2019s quickly becoming one of the most feared closers in the NBA. As the 2024\u201325 playoffs roll on, Brunson\u2019s fearless play in crunch time is turning heads everywhere. Even though the Celtics pulled off a big Game 5 win, folks in the basketball world are starting to put Brunson in the same conversation as the league\u2019s best clutch players. Whether it\u2019s leading comebacks or hitting cold-blooded shots in the final moments, Brunson is rewriting the Knicks\u2019 playoff story one big play at a time.<\/p>\n

Jalen Brunson\u2019s clutch scoring and leadership redefine New York Knicks\u2019 playoff run<\/p>\n

When the pressure turns up, Jalen Brunson<\/a> doesn\u2019t back down. He steps up. He earned the NBA\u2019s Clutch Player of the Year for 2024\u201325, and it\u2019s no fluke. He led the league with a 51% shooting percentage in clutch moments and averaged 5.6 points in those final, make-or-break five minutes of the game.But what really sets him apart isn\u2019t just the stats. It\u2019s the way he changes the whole vibe. Madison Square Garden was electric during Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals when the Knicks came back from a 12-point deficit in the second half, powered by Brunson\u2019s 24 points after halftime. Even though the Celtics took Game 5, Brunson\u2019s effort kept New York in the fight and was dangerous.Brunson\u2019s clutch gene has even drawn comparisons to basketball royalty. On the Gil\u2019s Arena podcast this week, Gilbert Arenas<\/a> said it best: \u201cJalen Brunson, mentally, is the closest thing to what Kobe [Bryant]<\/a> was in the fourth quarter. No matter what happens, he can be 0 for 20 and in the last five minutes, you already know that that window is different. He\u2019s going to go 4 for 5, he\u2019s going to put the team on his back and it\u2019s hard to find that skill.\u201dThe numbers back it up, too. In 10 playoff games this season, Brunson is averaging 30.1 points, 8.0 assists, and 4.0 rebounds per game. He does it all as a scorer and playmaker. Whether he\u2019s pulling off tough step-back jumpers or drawing double teams to open up his teammates, Brunson\u2019s late-game presence is a nightmare for defenses.Also Read: New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson crowned NBA\u2019s 2025 Clutch Player of the Year<\/a>Brunson is shaping the Knicks\u2019 playoff identity with his grit and fourth-quarter magic. He\u2019s not just carrying New York\u2019s run. He\u2019s building a legacy that stands alongside some of the NBA\u2019s greats. The series isn\u2019t over yet, and the future looks bright for Brunson and the Knicks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jalen Brunson. Image via: Getty Images Jalen Brunson has stopped being just a breakout star for the Knicks.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":33830,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3790],"tags":[7,6582,565,288,1536,4034,1698,300,4044,251,150,4033,4043,6,191,10240],"class_list":{"0":"post-33829","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles-lakers","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-clutch-player-of-the-year","10":"tag-gilbert-arenas","11":"tag-jalen-brunson","12":"tag-kobe-bryant","13":"tag-la","14":"tag-la-lakers","15":"tag-lakers","16":"tag-lalakers","17":"tag-los-angeles","18":"tag-los-angeles-lakers","19":"tag-losangeles","20":"tag-losangeleslakers","21":"tag-nba","22":"tag-new-york-knicks","23":"tag-new-york-knicks-playoff-run"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/114509670230284550","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33829","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33829"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33829\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33830"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33829"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}