’I Was Wrong’ — Becky Hammon Finally Backs Down After Viral Critique of Knicks’ NBA Champion Jalen Brunson

The New York Knicks beat the San Antonio Spurs in the 2026 NBA Finals and won the chip after 53 years. Jalen Brunson was named the Finals MVP, and it seemed like he had silenced all the doubters.

Speaking of critics, Las Vegas Aces HC Becky Hammon has willingly embraced that role against Brunson.

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Becky Hammon Finally Backtracks On Jalen Brunson Criticism

She claimed in 2023 that the Knicks would not be able to win with Brunson, citing his size and height as the main reason. But her comments surely didn’t age well, considering how Brunson averaged 32.6 points in the NBA Finals.

Make no mistake, she did not say Brunson was bad. She raised a real concern about New York’s ceiling, one that was not unreasonable given the historical record. Four players 6-foot-2 or shorter have won Finals MVP since the award was introduced in 1969.

Brunson is now one of them, alongside Steph Curry and Isiah Thomas, the very names Hammon invoked herself on Tuesday. But there’s no way that she could’ve predicted it at that point.

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Recently, Hammon chose to stick by her initial comment. She said, “All [Brunson] did was prove history wrong. He proves he’s an outlier, so you can put his name next to Steph Curry and Isiah Thomas. He was that 1A dude. But apologize? I’m never gonna apologize for having an opinion. That’s what ESPN pays me for.”

But after plenty of mixed reactions to her comment and decision, Hammon has finally backed down. She said ahead of the Las Vegas Aces’ game against the New York Liberty, Hammon stopped the WNBA reporters who were about to start the interview and made clear she wanted to get something off her chest first. She did not wait to be asked.