Los Lakers Lakers fans know how this goes: everyone is better than Luka Doncic until it's time to be better than Luka Doncic. Unfortunately, someone's faulty narrative is about to get a championship boost in the 2026 NBA Finals.
In all fairness to the San Antonio Spurs and their fans, their case is far more defensible. Maybe Victor Wembanyama has made a quick sprint toward the title of best player in the world. Perhaps a championship does punctuate that meteoric rise. There is more credence to that.
It's the other side of the equation that is far more worthy of a loud and audible groan. Yes New York Knicks fans, I am talking about you.
I think the list of basketball players better than Jalen Brunson might be down to SGA and the three 7-footers.
— Kris Pursiainen (@krispursiainen) May 28, 2026
The chatter has already quietly crept into the background for those that have not been paying attention. Knicks fans want to anoint Jalen Brunson as the latest player who is supposedly better than Doncic. If New York does win its first championship since the 1973, Lakers fans will be left in Twitter wars with that fanbase throughout the entirety of the offseason.
Lakers fans will be stuck in narrative hell if Knicks win the championship
Knicks fans will sit there with a straight face and tell you Brunson has eclipsed his former Dallas Mavericks teammate without actually pinpointing what exactly it is that Jalen does better on the floor than Luka. Spoiler: the answer is nothing, really.
This is not meant as a slight to Brunson either. The Knicks guard is a tremendous basketball player. He's still at least a tier lower than Doncic.
The strength of selling Brunson as an elite player in the NBA is obviously the offensive side of the basketball court. That is tough in this specific head-to-head considering that Doncic is one of the two best players in the NBA on that end (with Nikola Jokic being the other who is in his stratosphere).
Brunson and Doncic even mirror each other in their perceived weaknesses. Knicks fans will plead with you that their point guard is not the liability that he's made out to be. In truth, the roster around him just does a better job of hiding his limitations. OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, and Josh Hart should get sizable credit for that.
Even with Luka's imperfect supporting cast, Doncic still grades out better on defense. That is especially true when factoring in just how much more Luka gives you as a defensive rebounder.
If the Knicks win the NBA Finals, it should be a celebration of the strong roster that has been put together in New York, not just one individual. Brunson is the head of the snake, and deserves his flowers in the event of a title win. That does not need to include elevating him beyond his station in instances that do not call for it.
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