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By Matt Audilet
Contributing Sports Writer
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Jalen Brunson led the New York Knicks to an NBA Finals victory over the San Antonio Spurs, averaging 32.6 points per game through the 4-1 championship series.
Brunson capped off his first trip to the NBA Finals with an unforgettable performance, scoring a series-high 45 points in the Knicks' 94-90 closeout victory in Game 5.
Understandably, Brunson was named the 2026 NBA Finals MVP.
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With this honor, Brunson became just the fourth second-round draft pick in NBA history to win Finals MVP. The most recent to do so was Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, who claimed Finals MVP honors after his team's 2023 championship victory over the Miami Heat.
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The other two players to accomplish this feat are Dennis Johnson and Willis Reed. Johnson was selected with the Seattle SuperSonics' No. 29 overall pick in the 1976 draft, back when the league had less teams. Reed was selected No. 8 overall, which was technically a second-round pick in 1964.
Johnson earned Finals MVP honors with the SuperSonics in 1979. Reed secured Finals MVP honors for the Knicks in 1970 and 1973.
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Brunson entered the league as the Dallas Mavericks' No. 33 overall pick in the 2018 draft. After spending the first four seasons of his professional career in Dallas, he signed with the Knicks in free agency before the 2022-23 NBA season.
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