Fans climbed up billboards. Seventh Avenue shut down. Social media turned into a frenzy.
These are just a few snippets of what transpired after the New York Knicks beat the Boston Celtics on May 16th, advancing to their first Eastern Conference final since 2000.
The man behind New York’s transformation into relevancy is none other than Jalen Brunson.
With three playoff appearances in three seasons as a Knick, it’s safe to say that he’s stolen the throne from Carmelo Anthony as the best Knick since 2000.
That shouldn’t negate what Anthony did during his seven seasons in New York. A scoring title, three playoff appearances, and setting the team’s single-game scoring record headline his accomplishments.
However, did Anthony ever bring New York to the conference finals? Nope.
Below is an inside look at how Brunson has evolved into a greater Knick than Anthony due to playoff success.
Anthony’s Playoff Struggles
New York had a seven-year playoff drought when it acquired Anthony in February 2011. It was coming off three consecutive fifty-loss seasons and desperately looking for a pulse in the 2010-2011 campaign.
While Anthony helped bring the Knicks back to the postseason, they were swept by the Celtics in the first round.
The series was like a turtle trying to fight a cheetah on the loose with little fight and multiple steps behind. Despite scoring 74 combined points in games 2 and 4, he went 4/16 and 5/18 in the other two contests, respectively.
The following year, it was a similar story, as New York couldn’t conquer the LeBron James-led Miami Heat in five games.
Anthony had his share of signature moments, such as a 41-point Game 4 outing to keep the Knicks alive, but his Game 1 dud set the tone for the whole series. He shot an abysmal 20% from the field en route to a 100-67 loss as the potent force of James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh torched New York.
Heading into the 2012-13 playoffs as the No. 2 seed with a 54-28 record, immense pressure was on Anthony to capture New York’s first playoff series win since 2000. Alongside J.R. Smith, Amar’e Stoudemire, and others, the Knicks’ stout defense catapulted them to a victory over Boston in six games.
The Knicks playoff success was short-lived.
The Indiana Pacers downed the Knicks in six games in the semifinals, sending New York into the offseason with more questions than answers regarding its future.
Anthony may have united the city of New York by getting the team to the playoffs in three straight seasons and briefly changing the trajectory of the franchise. At the same time, his ball-dominant style of play and playoff inconsistencies capped New York’s ceiling against Eastern Conference powerhouses.
Brunson’s Playoff Heroics (pre-2025)
Anthony’s first playoff game as a Knick couldn’t have gone worse. 5/18 from the field, five fouls, and five turnovers culminating in a disappointing two-point loss.
Brunson’s couldn’t have gone better. Clutch basket after clutch basket, his 27 points immediately gave New York a spark for its first road playoff win in a decade.
Anthony’s dreadful Game 1 showing in Miami in 2012 was a far cry from Brunson’s heroics down the stretch against the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2023. The performance ignited hope across the five boroughs – something Anthony’s first playoff game didn’t do.
It took until Year 3 for Anthony to win consecutive playoff games. For Brunson, he accomplished this feat within his first playoff series as a Knick.
In Games 3 and 4 wins over the Cavaliers, Brunson shot over 50% and tallied over 20 points each contest en route to an eventual five-game series victory.
New York’s season came to a screeching halt the following series against the pesky, eighth-seeded Heat, but Brunson proved his worth.
Down 3-1 in a vital Game 5 at the Garden, he diced up Miami’s defense with 38 points and four threes. Even in the Knicks Game 6 loss (in large part due to abysmal showings from Julius Randle and RJ Barrett), the former Dallas Maverick erupted for 41 points.
Anthony never returned to the playoffs as a Knick after losing in the semifinals in six games in 2013. For Brunson, it was just a prelude. Something similar to the opening chapter of a 300-page novel.
The second chapter of that same novel is built on the first. Calling Brunson’s performance in the 2023-24 first-round series against the Philadelphia 76ers magical wouldn’t do him justice. It was a work of art, something you would walk by in the Louvre.
39 points. 47 points. 40 points. 41 points. These aren’t cumulative scoring numbers but single-game, video-game-esque stats that Brunson racked up against the 76ers in a series win.
His torrid stretch reached its climax in Game 4 with a 47-point masterclass where he scored nearly half of New York’s points in a 97-92 win.
The Knicks were derailed by injuries in the following round to the Pacers and lost in seven games.
That shouldn’t discredit any of what Brunson accomplished during these playoffs. Five 40-point games, multiple clutch victories, and nearly a conference finals berth.
With one more strong playoff showing, Brunson would be on the cusp of cementing himself as the most valuable Knick of the 21st century.
The 2025 Playoffs
Resiliency has been the theme of the 2025 playoffs for New York. An NBA-record three 20-point comebacks and gritty road wins attest to that.
The catalyst behind these unfathomable wins has varied between Mikal Bridges, Karl-Anthony Towns, and others, but Brunson has been the main constant.
In the 2025 postseason, he’s found ways to compensate for poor shooting nights. Most notably, his playmaking has been superb, recording an average of 7.7 assists per game across the first two series.
Another defining characteristic of Brunson is that he rarely has back-to-back letdown games. That’s never been more evident than in the 2025 playoffs.
In Game 5 against the Detroit Pistons in the first round, he went just 4/16. In typical Brunson fashion, he followed that up with 40 points in Game 6 to send New York to the second round.
Against Boston, it was more of the same. After shooting 9/21 in Game 3, he went toe-to-toe with Jayson Tatum for 39 points the following game in a winning effort.
It was a different story with Anthony.
He’d often follow up a dreadful night with another atrocious game. He usually folded in critical moments. He rarely engineered the major comebacks that this current Knicks team has.
In short, he became a liability when New York needed him most.
Brunson snatched the title of “Greatest Knick since 2000” after the series win over Boston. Two 20-point deficits overcome in the rowdy TD Garden? Just an average night for Brunson and the 2025 Knicks.
New York’s improbable victory over Boston was the team’s second win over a higher-seeded squad in the Brunson era. How many times did Anthony rise to the occasion and stun a championship-caliber team? Zero.
Final Thoughts
To preface, this article wasn’t meant to slander Anthony. Seven years of elite play, an All-NBA second team appearance, and several thrilling moments in the regular season.
The harsh reality of today’s NBA is that even if a player thrives in the regular season, it’ll be scrutinized by fans on social media for poor playoff performances.
Brunson has routinely dodged criticism from fans due to stellar play. That wouldn’t hold true if Anthony was still in the league today.
New York’s playoff run may end soon, but Leon Rose officially hit the jackpot with Brunson. His resume is already greater than Anthony’s and is only skyrocketing. A title would likely cement him as the best Knick of all time.
Knick fans should be ecstatic that Brunson will rock the orange and blue for the foreseeable future.
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