KAT or Brunson? NBA Finals MVP is a toss-up with some intriguing long-shot candidates

If the NBA’s Western Conference represented a different class of competition than the East, nobody told the New York Knicks. Mike Brown’s team extended their playoff win streak to 13 games after stealing two tight games in San Antonio, and are now playing their first NBA Finals games in Madison Square Garden in 27 years with a 2-0 series advantage. The Spurs have looked more terrestrial than their reputation, but they’ve held leads late in both games, and perhaps the real difference between conferences is showing up in the fatigue factor in the final minutes.

The market for NBA Finals MVP on FanDuel is a valuable measure of the impact that each player has had on the series so far. It’s also a look beyond the box score to consider the narratives that are likely to close out the season.

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Jalen Brunson (+115)

Brunson shook off a slow start to game 1 (including multiple injury scares) to take over in the fourth quarter and nailed tough looks down the stretch. Conventional wisdom and historical precedent have suggested that a team can’t win a championship if their best player is short. But this is nothing new to Jalen Brunson, who’s carried his teams to titles at every level of his career.

He hasn’t been an efficient shooter to start the series (33.9% FG), but he’s found ways to force his impact; scoring 30 points in the opener and grabbing five steals to go with his 20 points and six assists in game two. The Knicks’ offense evolved when Towns became more of a facilitator, but Brunson’s penetration and pull-ups are still the team’s primary options in crunch time.

Karl-Anthony Towns (+165)

Maybe the best argument in Becky Hammon’s favor is that the Knicks are on the precipice of a championship because of the play of their big man, Karl-Anthony Towns. He’s challenged conventional wisdom about his own play during this win streak, using his size to play physical defense and wear on Wemby, while grabbing 12.5 tough rebounds.

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Towns has unlocked the Knicks’ offense by serving more as an offensive hub and highlighting his passing, but he’s still the best shooting big man of…

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Publish date : 2026-06-08 15:26:00

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