NEW YORK (USA) - When games hang in the balance and a team needs a bucket or a huge play, no one's better in those critical moments than Jalen Brunson.
He's proven that everywhere he goes. At the collegiate level, in the NBA, and on the international scene as well.
A member of the USA national team, New York Knicks super star Brunson led the Madison Square Garden outfit into the playoffs with game-winning heroics this season and has not surprisingly been awarded the Jerry West Trophy as the 2024-25 Kia NBA Clutch Player of the Year.
The award has only been around since the 2022-23 campaign, and it honors the NBA player who best comes through for his teammates late in close games.
A global media panel of 100 voters selected the winner based on nominations from NBA head coaches.
According to an official news release by the NBA, Brunson averaged an NBA-high 5.6 points in clutch situations, which are defined as possessions in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime when the score is within five points. In those instances, he also led the league in field goals made (52) and ranked second in total points (156) and third in total assists (28).
Brunson shot 51.5 percent from the field and 84.0 percent from the free throw line in clutch time. In the 28 clutch games in which he played, the Knicks had a record of 17-11.
The New Jersey native shot to international basketball fame when he led the USA to glory at the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup in Greece and scooped the honor as the event's MVP after a thrilling Final triumph over Croatia.
Brunson also started at point guard for the USA at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Manila and led the Americans to the Semi-Finals.
FIBA