Ranking the Top 5 Individual Performances from Knicks 2023-24 Season

1. Jalen Brunson’s 61-Point Showcase

Jalen Brunson was born to play basketball. 

There were a handful of occasions this past season where that line was shouted out on the Knicks broadcast by Mike Breen. It was an attempt to summarize the awe that came from witnessing the team’s newest franchise point guard light up the NBA at levels unforeseen for a player of his stature. 

Indeed, the types of insane, consistent performances put forth by the former second-round pick was hard to believe, and constantly doubted whether they would continue in a sport dominated by taller players. Yet, every time Brunson came out and dropped 30, 40, or 50 points, it changed the narrative around him and no game grew his legend more than March 29th in Texas.

Facing off against the developmental Spurs, who came with a spirited attitude for an 18-win team, in a 130-126 overtime loss, Brunson would clarify his status as a 1A level player by giving one of the best individual outings of the 2023 season.  He dropped a career-best 61 points, 4 rebounds, and 6 assists and danced with breaking the all-time Knicks record for points in a single game held by Carmelo Anthony since the 2014 season.

Brunson fell one basket short of placing himself ahead of Anthony’s 62 points as a late three-ball rimmed out and couldn’t give the Knicks a last-second lead to defeat the Spurs. Still, it was the fifth-highest performance in the NBA this past year and set up an unforgettable duel with rookie big man Victor Wembanyama, who had his own 40-point and 20-rebound game to lead San Antonio.

What made it even more intriguing was the fact that the Knicks got off to a slow start, putting them behind 38-27 after one quarter and giving the Spurs early confidence.

Whenever the time had come for the Knicks to bow out, there was Brunson making another highlight play under duress to put the team on his shoulders and nearly squeak out the victory. Brunson would earn his seventh game of at least 40 points, finish with 11 total, and make it a ball game to remember despite his reluctance to enjoy it after a loss. 

It might not have ended the way Brunson expects it to every game, but it was a certainly special performance that elevated from the level of a mid-tier role player averaging 16.8 points per game in Dallas to a full-fletched star in the NBA. He would eventually earn All-NBA second-team honors at the end of the regular season and it’s the showcase like this one that will be the staple of his early Knicks tenure and the 2023 campaign.  

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