Jalen Brunson. When you watch his game, you would not be surprised to know that he modeled his game after Allen Iverson and Steve Nash. Jalen doesn’t just jet through gaps, he relies on guile to guide his defenders into exactly the right spots for him to bump and body them out of the way. The phenomenal footwork is the foundation of everything. He clears space with craftiness - but hardly ever in a way reminiscent of The Answer. Instead, he asks questions of the defense and then denies them any chance or choice. That’s where the Nash comes in: he takes what he’s given and makes the opposition pay.

Jalen’s per 36 numbers: 18.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, 5.1 assists on 52.3/40.5/79.5 shooting splits. To borrow from Chris Herring's magnificent piece (link below), Brunson was THIRD IN THE LEAGUE in drive field goal percentage.

Giannis Antetokounmpo - 63.8%
LeBron James - 60.8%
Jalen Brunson - 59.2%
Luka Doncic - 59.2%
Eric Grodon - 58.2%
Kevin Durant - 57.4%
Zion Williamson - 56.8%

https://www.nba.com/stats/players/dri...

Per Synergy, he finished in the 92nd percentile in the league as the PnR ball handler (1.093 PPP).

Per Cleaning the Glass, Brunson shot 71% at the rim, 51% from short midrange, 50% from midrange overall, 51% on corner 3s, and had an effective field goal percentage of 58.5. All the things listed are in the 91st percentile OR HIGHER for combo guards.

Here’s another hyper interesting stat: Brunson tied with the likes of Kyrie Irving and Fred VanVleet in floor fouled percentage - which is a stat that measures how many non-shooting fouls a player drew per team play.

If you want to read more about the brilliance of Brunson, you can do treat your eyes to the wonder of the words of Chris Herring:
https://www.si.com/nba/2021/04/08/jal...

*All clips are from the 2020-21 season

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