The fairytale moment of the New York Knicks’ historic championship run has turned into a summer of recovery and reflection. Following the stunning revelation that Finals MVP Jalen Brunson played through a severe left wrist injury that required immediate surgery after the championship, the basketball world is re-examining the intense media scrutiny the star point guard has faced throughout his career. While Stephen A. Smith’s, Shaquille O’Neal’s, and Draymond Green’s apologies were soothing, Becky Hammon remains a sore point for many New Yorkers and maybe Brunson himself.

Appearing on the Give and Go show, Antonio Daniels, the Spurs legend who beat the Knicks in 1999, offered a different perspective on what the Las Vegas Aces head coach said in 2024 about small guards like Brunson.

“You know it’s no secret what Becky Hammon spoke of,” Daniels told SiriusXM’s Rob Perez. “And that wasn’t an indictment on Jalen Brunson. That was basically her talking about the history of this league of somebody that size being the best player on a team, hadn’t done that.”

After Brunson’s injury was revealed, Hammon has drawn fresh backlash from fans who feel this proves that the Knicks guard had more grit than she gave him credit for. However, Daniels argued that the coach’s perspective was rooted entirely in historical league precedent rather than personal malice.

In 2023, Hammon outrightly said, “He’s [Brunson] too small. If your best player is small, you’re not winning. Steph Curry is the only dude.”

When Brunson won the Eastern Conference Finals MVP, she doubled down by citing history.

“I speak from experience. 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. 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. I said what I said. If he proves me wrong, he proves me wrong.”

It was such a sore point for Knicks diehards, Spike Lee accidentally mistook an ESPN reporter for Becky Hammon and demanded she apologize.

Brunson did prove her wrong. Hammon refused to apologize but she offered an unprompted retraction at the next Aces shootaround after the NBA Finals.

“Jalen, all he did was prove history wrong,” Hammon said. “He proves he’s an outlier, so you can put his name next to Steph Curry and Isiah Thomas. I thought he played brilliantly, especially down the stretch. I mean, he was that 1A dude. But apologize? I’m never going to apologize for having an opinion. That’s what ESPN pays me for.”

Her constant references to NBA history and evidence proving smaller guys have it harder is what Daniels emphasizes on. But it does little to endear Hammon to the city of New York and Brunson’s teammates.

Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart called her out for her remarks. Meanwhile Brunson refuses to speak on it. He made a big point to skip commenting on Hammon in his recent Sports Illustrated interview.

Instead of focusing on the critics, Brunson’s offseason is now about his recovery. He is expected to spend the next two months recovering from the procedure, with a clear timeline to resume basketball activities later this summer well ahead of the Knicks’ official title defense.