{"id":1539,"date":"2026-05-26T23:04:43","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T23:04:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=1539"},"modified":"2026-05-26T23:04:43","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T23:04:43","slug":"becky-hammon-stands-by-her-small-player-take-as-jalen-brunson-lifts-knicks-to-nba-finals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=1539","title":{"rendered":"Becky Hammon stands by her \u2018small player\u2019 take as Jalen Brunson lifts Knicks to NBA Finals"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>LAS VEGAS (AP) \u2014 Las Vegas Aces coach Becky Hammon didn\u2019t completely back down from her assertion a small player can\u2019t lead his team to the NBA championship now that Jalen Brunson has taken the New York Knicks to the NBA Finals.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=1537\">Work continues on new Red Hat Amphitheater, set to open in Raleigh next year<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Hammon made her initial comments on ESPN in December 2023, saying the Knicks couldn\u2019t win the championship if the 6-foot-2 Brunson was their best player.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf your best player is small, you\u2019re not winning,\u201d Hammon said at the time.<\/p>\n<p>Those comments have generated some buzz after Brunson received the Larry Bird Trophy for MVP of the Eastern Conference finals after the Knicks swept the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday night. He averaged 25.5 points and 7.8 assists in the series.<\/p>\n<p>The Knicks will face defending champion Oklahoma City or San Antonio in the finals.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=1534\">NCAA denies Texas Tech QB Brendan Sorsby\u2019s petition for eligibility reinstatement<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI speak from experience,\u201d Hammon said Tuesday. \u201cAllen Iverson got MVP and he lost in the finals. I think the two best teams are probably in the West, but I\u2019m up for being proven wrong. That\u2019s the other thing, I think Jalen Brunson\u2019s a hell of a player, a hell of a player. I\u2019m speaking historically on the NBA with what I said. I don\u2019t know why everybody\u2019s so stuck on that. I said it two years ago.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI said what I said. If he proves me wrong, he proves me wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hammon, who has coached the Aces to three of the past four WNBA championships, has a clear rooting interested in the NBA playoffs.<\/p>\n<p>The Hall of Famer played for the San Antonio Silver Stars \u2014 who eventually moved to Las Vegas and became the Aces \u2014 and later was a Spurs assistant under coach Gregg Popovich.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=1532\">Reyna, Berhalter, Zendejas on US World Cup roster, while Luna and Tessmann left off by Pochettino<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cOh, you know who I\u2019m cheering for,\u201d Hammon said.<\/p>\n<p>___<\/p>\n<p>AP NBA: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/nba<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>LAS VEGAS (AP) \u2014 Las Vegas Aces coach Becky Hammon didn\u2019t completely back down from&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1538,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1539","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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