Becky Hammon’s 2023 prediction is collapsing in real time, and she refuses to apologize. Right after the Cleveland Cavaliers were swept out of the Eastern Conference Finals and the New York Knicks punched their ticket to the Finals – completing an 11-game win streak that included back-to-back sweeps of the Philadelphia 76ers and Cleveland Cavaliers – not-so-old wounds resurfaced. From Brian Dameris’ infamous rant on James Harden to slights against Jalen Brunson that didn’t age well. Coincidentally, both from 2023. The WNBA legend and head coach Becky Hammon is refusing to back down from her highly controversial basketball philosophy, even as Brunson pushes the Knicks to the brink of basketball immortality.

In December 2023, Hammon ignited a firestorm on ESPN by boldly declaring that the Knicks could never capture an NBA championship with the 6-foot-2 guard as their primary option, stating bluntly, “If your best player is small, you’re not winning.” However, when The Associated Press caught up with the Hall of Famer on Tuesday, Hammon dug in her heels rather than issuing an apology.

“I speak from experience,” Hammon defiantly told AP, invoking historical precedent to shield her perspective. “Allen Iverson got MVP, and he lost in the finals. I think the two best teams are probably in the West, but I’m up for being proven wrong.”

Iverson, the 6-foot guard who won the 2001 MVP, fell short when the Los Angeles Lakers defeated his Philadelphia 76ers that same year. Getting compared to Allen Iverson has its perks but this is still a backhanded compliment. However, the three-time WNBA champion head coach is open to being proven wrong.

The Las Vegas head coach expressed bewilderment over why her assessment has remained a focal point of public backlash for over two years.

“That’s the other thing, I think Jalen Brunson’s a hell of a player, a hell of a player. I’m speaking historically on the NBA with what I said. I don’t know why everybody’s so stuck on that. I said it two years ago,” Hammon continued, before offering a final challenge to the New York star: “I said what I said. If he proves me wrong, he proves me wrong.”

Hammon’s nod to the West is pointed – the Knicks will face a Finals opponent she believes is the superior team. But Brunson’s postseason numbers make that a harder sell by the day. The needle is closer to ‘wrong’ for Hammon. For the first time since 1997, the Knicks are in the NBA Finals. Brunson deserves props for that.

A small guard defends Jalen Brunson from Becky Hammon’s statement

Jalen Brunson has not spoken on Hammon’s comments, neither in 2023 nor in 2026. It’s unlikely he will either. Becky Hammon is also open to changing her stance if the Knicks actually win the NBA championship for the first time since 1973. For now, her rigid stance has turned Hammon into an immediate lightning rod for debate over Brunson’s and the Knicks’ chances.

The ‘small guard can’t win’ narrative has long shaped how the NBA evaluates its stars, but the modern game’s emphasis on spacing, pace, and shot creation has steadily eroded that logic.

While Iverson has been to the Finals once, when the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Philadelphia 76ers in 2001, the 6-foot guard is not the end-all, be-all example to support the generalization ‘small guards don’t win.’

The counter-examples run deep from 6’1 Isiah Thomas’ back-to-back championships with the Bad Boy Pistons to the modern era’s embrace of smaller, elite shot-creators. And few know that reality better than Isaiah Thomas, the 5’9″ guard who averaged 28.9 points per game for the Boston Celtics in the 2016-17 season – still one of the most remarkable individual campaigns by a player his size in NBA history.

Thomas took to social media to throw direct shade at Hammon’s 2023 comments, arguing that such generalized labels actively damage the reputation of shorter playmakers.

“I remember when Coach Becky Hammon went on national TV saying you can’t win with a SMALL guard… Man, I don’t like those types of statements smh. Keep doing ya thang, Brunson… We ‘small’ guards are all rooting 4 ya,” Thomas wrote on X.

For his part, Brunson is letting his work do the talking. He just swept the Cavs while averaging 25.5 points, 7.8 assists, and 3.3 rebounds, while shooting 48.7% from the field. He’s averaging 26.9 PPG in these playoffs, one of the many reasons a panel of nine media members collectively voted him the Eastern Conference Finals MVP on Monday night.

While the Larry Bird Trophy gives his fans bragging rights against doubters like Becky Hammon, Jalen Brunson’s goal is closely aligned with that of the WNBA legend: bringing the Larry O’Brien Trophy to New York.