Jalen Brunson keeps collecting big moments, and somehow the snubs keep coming.
The latest slight came when HoopsHype released its top 27 point guards for the 2026-27 season and slotted the Knicks star at No. 4, behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luka Doncic and Cade Cunningham. That means Brunson, 29, was bumped down even after a season in which he helped deliver New York its first championship in 53 years.
It’s a tough pill to swallow for a player who has spent his entire NBA career getting brushed aside. Brunson already watched the player he outplayed and defeated in the NBA Finals land the cover of NBA 2K27, and he also saw 2026-27 MVP odds list eight players ahead of him.
HoopsHype itself acknowledged the challenge of the exercise, posting: “We have ranked the Top 27 point guards for 2026-27.
A super tough exercise.
Who's too low? Who's too high? https://t.co/nOPgmHnRZD
- HoopsHype (@hoopshype) August 14, 2026”
There’s little argument for Gilgeous-Alexander at No. 1, and there’s at least a case for Doncic, but Cunningham jumping Brunson feels like the real eyebrow-raiser.
Brunson’s 2025-26 regular season gave voters plenty to chew on. He averaged 26.0 points, 6.8 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 2.6 three-point field goals made per game while shooting .467/.369/.841. He also earned All-NBA Second Team honors and added an NBA Cup and NBA Cup MVP award to his resume.
Still, the postseason is where Brunson’s case got loudest. He led the Knicks to a 16-3 record and a title, then turned into the league’s most reliable closer. In those playoffs, he put up a league-best 9.9 points per fourth quarter and shot .562/.526/.905.
New York then beat the 62-20 Spurs in an NBA Finals most people expected it to lose. Brunson answered by drilling shot after shot in Wembanyama’s face and making San Antonio’s guard group look stuck whenever it had to defend him.
And it wasn’t just San Antonio. Brunson also beat Cunningham and the Pistons in the 2025 NBA Playoffs, which only sharpens the question hanging over all these rankings: when does the respect start matching what Brunson actually does on the floor?
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