Becky Hammon, coach of the Las Vegas Aces and three-time WNBA championship winner, maintained her doubts about small players leading NBA championship teams after the New York Knicks reached the NBA Finals on Sunday [1, 2, 3].
In December 2023, Hammon said, "If your best player is small, you're not winning," referring specifically to Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson [1]. She argued that despite Brunson's success, small players historically have not been championship-winning stars.
The Knicks swept the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals to reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999, propelled by Brunson's strong performance [1, 2, 3]. Brunson averaged 25.5 points and 7.5 to 7.8 assists per game during the series and was named MVP of the Eastern Conference Finals [1, 2].
Hammon expressed admiration for Brunson, calling him "a hell of a player," but said she still "stands by" her earlier comments, telling reporters, "I said what I said. If he proves me wrong, he proves me wrong" [1, 2]. She added, "You gotta have a 1A dude, and they're missing that at the end of the day if we're just getting down to brass tacks" [3].
Hammon has won three WNBA championships as a coach but never won an NBA title as a player herself [1, 2]. She said she is rooting for Western Conference teams in the NBA playoffs rather than the Knicks [1, 2, 3].
Brunson and the Knicks will face the Western Conference champion in the NBA Finals to be decided in the coming weeks. The Knicks last won the NBA championship in 1973 [2].
