Foul baiter, flopper, not ethical, unwatchable, disgusting. Jalen Brunson and his game have been called all of these things. But these opinions are voiced rarely, if ever, by people who actually watch and know basketball. These lazy and statistically false narratives are often perpetuated by those who are either salty after losing to Brunson and the Knicks or are a part of the growing problem that is the unintelligent basketball community on social media platforms, incapable of having nuanced conversations
centered around statistics, context, and eye tests.
Now, does Brunson sell calls? Absolutely. I am a Knicks fan who has seen and experienced the dark and painful times of believing in Mardy Collins, calling Toney Douglas my starting point guard, and watching the corpses of Larry Hughes, Antonio McDyess, and Steve Francis. But I am also not blind.
When Brunson gets bumped, hit, or fouled, he may make said contact more obvious by embellishing his movements. But that is not flopping. That is a player, a very short one at that, getting fouled, and said player making sure that he gets the calls that he deserves. And does he flop from time to time? Yes. Is it the ideal way to play basketball? As a self-proclaimed old school basketball purist, I’d argue no. But with so many other players doing the same, and much worse, I really don’t have a problem with what Brunson is doing. And neither should the hundreds of fans who cry and complain about Brunson’s game.
Because Brunson’s game, when you actually watch it, is a thing of beauty. It is among the most aesthetically pleasing games in the game, comprised of elite footwork, impeccable balance, and an almost unmatched level of fundamentals, all mixed into a bag that is then capped off by a barrage of baskets at all three levels. He can get into the paint against almost any defender. He has one of the prettiest floaters in the game. He can kill you from the midrange. And he’s an adept three-point shooter that is almost as efficient off the dribble as he is off the catch.
Thankfully, as you can see above, there are still plenty of content creators and reasonable basketball fans, even those of other teams, who appreciate Brunson and his game. But since there are still so many people who refuse to take a few minutes to simply look at the stats, let’s dive into the numbers to dissect if Brunson is really as bad a foul-baiter as social media so often claims he is.
Heading into Tuesday, Brunson ranks seventh in the league in points per game at 27.9PPG. Yet he ranks 26th in the league in free throw attempts per game at just 6.5 FTA per game. That is notably behind names like Deni Avdija, Zion Williamson, James Harden, Austin Reaves, Devin Booker, Paolo Banchero, Jimmy Butler, Joel Embiid, Anthony Edwards, Keyonte George, Trae Young, Cade Cunningham, Julius Randle, Lauri Markkanen, Franz Wagner, Victor Wembanyama, Cam Thomas, and Pascal Siakam. All of them average fewer points per game than Brunson. And most of them play much less physically than Brunson does. And that isn’t even the craziest part.
As of now, Brunson ranks 78th in the league out of 242 qualifying players who average more than 20MPG in the percentage of points that come from free throws. The 18.8% of his points that come from free throws ranks lower than obscure guys like Tre Jones, Isaiah Collier, Bilal Coulibaly, Kevin Porter Jr., Andrew Nembhard, Ajay Mitchell, Dennis Schroder, and Ron Holland, all of whom, again, play less physically than Brunson does. And for reference, the league leaders in this category belong to the aforementioned Butler, Young, Williamson, Banchero, and Avdija, who are all above 30%.
Sure, Butler, Williamson, and Banchero at times play a physical brand of basketball. But over 30%? Oh, and Harden, Embiid, Reaves, Doncic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, often referred to as some of the worst floppers, are all in the 25-30% range as well. And if those numbers somehow weren’t enough, Brunson is currently on a two-game stretch where he has scored 62 points on just three free throw attempts. How many guys in the league can do that?
Again, I know well enough not to deny that Brunson sells contact. Because he does, and he should. And outside of the occasional flopping that he does, his game is both a pleasure to watch and much more ethical than he gets credited for. Unfortunately, fans, most often those of the Sixers, Cavaliers, and Pacers, use clips like the one above to complain about flopping when they are fouls by definition. Now, is it marginal contact? Maybe. But it’s contact nonetheless.
Like the clip above, and the video below clearly show and explain, respectively, there is a clear difference between flopping and what Brunson is doing. Many of the so-called “flops” that fans complain about are a result of Brunson being crafty, putting defenders in bad positions, and then taking advantage of their mistakes. Like Brunson recently said in an interview, maybe defenders should be disciplined and not reach.
Ultimately, if people don’t like Brunson, his game, or some of the contact selling he does, fine. But calling him a flopper, or unethical, or the worst watch in basketball, exposes you as someone who either just hates him, doesn’t watch, or doesn’t actually understand basketball.
