Becky Hammon is holding her ground. Despite acknowledging Jalen Brunson's skill after the Knicks' NBA title win, Hammon is not going to apologize for her opinion.

Josh Hart asked Hammon to apologize during an event of the Roommates Show podcast in Manhattan on June 22, which featured Brunson as well. However, Hammon had a simple response during Tuesday's shootaround, as reported by Madeline Kenney of the NY Post.

"Jalen, all he did was prove history wrong; he proves he’s an outlier, so you can put his name next to Stephen Curry and Isiah Thomas," Hammon said. "And I thought he played brilliantly, especially down the stretch. I mean, he was that 1A dude, but like, apologize, I’m never gonna apologize for having an opinion; that’s what ESPN pays me for."

Hammon's comments date back to 2023, when she said on ESPN’s NBA Today show that Brunson wasn't a "1A dude" and named Curry and Thomas as exceptions for being small yet impactful. Interestingly, Brunson turned the 2023 season into his best so far, production-wise, putting up 28.7 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 6.7 assists on average.

He followed that up by leading the team to the Conference Finals against the Pacers in 2025 and the Championship in 2026.

Although she now disagrees with that comment, she didn't apologize, saying she was supposed to give an opinion on the show, which is why ESPN had her on the show.

But this isn't the only time she has defended her 2023 comments.

From skeptic to fan: Hammon’s evolving take

On May 26, Hammon once again spoke about Brunson with 8 News Now, saying that she made that comment from experience.

"I'm speaking historically on the NBA with what I said," Hammon said. "I don’t know why everybody’s so stuck on that. I said it two years ago, I stand by it. There’s no air to be cleared. I said what I said."

However, after Brunson proved her wrong, Hammon has praised her, stating that she is also a Brunson fan now!

"I’ve never seen a guy at his size, when you talk about comps, like, who’s comparable to him?" Hammon said. "Who does he play like? Kind of never seen anybody like him. The guy’s 6-1 and bullies a 6-7 league on average, and he bullies people on offense. I mean, so I’ve always been a Jalen Brunson fan."

Although she didn't apologize as Hart would've wanted from people who doubted Brunson, she did recognize and appreciate Brunson for his dominance in the 2025-26 season.

Meanwhile, Hammon will go on her own quest with the Aces, facing the Dallas Wings on Thursday, June 25.

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Written by

Dhruv Singh

Edited by

Siddharth Shirwadkar