Shaquille O'Neal Issues Jalen Brunson Apology to Charles Barkley After NBA Finals
Jalen Brunson has been doubted for much of his NBA career, but when everyone else was struggling in Saturday's Game 5 of the NBA Finals, the 6-foot-2 floor general erupted for a historic night, dropping 45 points in a 94-90 victory over the San Antonio Spurs that delivered his team its first championship in 53 years.
The Knicks have spent decades searching for a player to build around, someone who could lead them back to the top of the NBA. They apparently had Brunson in mind when they signed him as a free agent in 2022, and while many believed, including a WNBA coach, that he couldn't be a true No. 1 option because of his height, all those doubts were erased on Saturday night.
NBA legend Charles Barkley had even suggested Brunson could become the greatest free-agent signing in NBA history, and after Saturday's win, few could argue against him. Former NBA champion Shaquille O'Neal even issued a public apology to Barkley on air.
"Charles, I owe you an apology," O'Neal said on ESPN's 'Inside The NBA'. "You've been saying for the past two years that Brunson has been the best free agency signing ever. Now, it is. Now it becomes that. We know he was good. I didn't know he was this good.
"He woke up this morning, saying, 'Hey, I'm going to get this whatever I gotta do. I'm gonna get this MVP and I'm gonna get this championship.'"
Brunson's Journey to the Top in New York
Brunson signed a four-year, $104 million deal with the Knicks shortly after the Dallas Mavericks passed on offering him a four-year, $55 million extension, a decision that showed they did not value him the way New York did. It was hardly surprising at the time, given that Brunson had yet to receive major individual recognition and had averaged just 16.3 points per game the previous season.
However, New York had also hired his father, Rick Brunson, as an assistant coach, and clearly saw more in Brunson than Dallas did. The move drew criticism from across the league, including from Stephen A. Smith, but it didn't take the former Villanova star long to prove his worth.
In his first season in New York, Brunson averaged 24 points per game. The following year, he raised his game to another level, posting a career-high 28.7 points per game, finishing fifth in MVP voting, and earning his first All-Star selection.
While the Knicks fell short in the playoffs in both of those seasons, as well as in 2025, they embarked on a historic run this summer, sweeping the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference semifinals and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference finals.
With Brunson leading from the front, New York dominated the Spurs in the opening two games in San Antonio, extending its playoff winning streak to 13 games. The Spurs managed to steal Game 3 at Madison Square Garden, but it proved only a minor setback, as the Knicks scripted a historic comeback in Game 4 before Brunson single-handedly carried them to victory in Game 5, earning Finals MVP honors.
In doing so, he became just the third player standing 6-foot-3 or shorter to lead a championship team in scoring and win NBA Finals MVP, joining Isiah Thomas and Stephen Curry.
Brunson finished the postseason averaging 28.4 points, 6.1 assists, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 46.5% from the field and 36.3% from three-point range. In the process, he cemented himself as one of the greatest players in Knicks history and, certainly, the franchise's greatest star since Patrick Ewing.
Related: Jalen Brunson's Emotional Postgame Moment With Father Draws Attention After NBA Finals Win
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This story was originally published June 14, 2026 at 4:30 AM.