Knicks star gives BYU star blueprint for success

New York’s Jalen Brunson just showed the world that on basketball’s grandest stage, the smallest player on the floor can also be the biggest.

One undersized point guard in Provo, Utah, was watching his every move — and it wasn’t the first time.

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“He went to Villanova and that’s 30 miles from my house, so I’ve been watching him growing up,” BYU guard Rob Wright III told the “Y’s Guys” livestream show earlier this week. “Just seeing him get that done was motivation for me because I’m a small guard. I was tuned in for sure.”

So was Wright’s head coach.

“I think the things they have in common is they are always under control,” BYU coach Kevin Young added during the show. “Brunson is a low-turnover guy. That’s my favorite thing about Rob. I feel very safe when Rob has the ball. He’s not going to give it away. No one is going to take it from him. Now it becomes a second layer — the decision making.”

Wise and wily, Brunson ran circles around San Antonio to earn MVP honors as the Knicks beat the Spurs in the NBA Finals. In the deciding Game 6, the 6-foot-2 guard sliced and diced his way through San Antonio’s giants for 45 points.

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“I referenced Brunson (Monday) at practice. He’s arguably the most un-athletic guy in the NBA and he just won the NBA Finals MVP,” said Young. “Why? He’s very under control. He almost always plays off two feet in the paint. You can never speed him up. He can always get to his spots and he’s never dead, even when he picks his dribble up. That’s something we talk to Rob (about) quite a bit.”

Next challenge

As a 6-foot-1 sophomore, Wright delivered several big moments in his BYU debut, scoring a season-high 39 against Colorado, 30 at Baylor, 27 against Texas Tech, 23 at West Virginia and 21 at Cincinnati. His 2-point shooting percentage improved from .435 during his freshman year at Baylor to .490 at BYU. His 3-point shooting jumped from .351 to .410 and his points per game increased from 11.5 to 18.1.

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“The next challenge…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/knicks-star-gives-byu-star-030001825.html

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Publish date : 2026-06-19 03:00:00

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