Hammon won't apologize, calls Brunson 'outlier'
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- Becky Hammon refused to apologize for her December 2023 ESPN comments calling Jalen Brunson not a '1A dude,' saying: 'I'm never going to apologize for having an opinion. That's what ESPN pays me for.'
- Jalen Brunson, listed at 6-foot-2, earned NBA Finals MVP after guiding the Knicks to a five-game victory over the San Antonio Spurs, scoring 45 points in the title-clinching game on June 13.
- Hammon placed Brunson alongside Steph Curry and Isiah Thomas as an 'outlier' who 'prove[s] history wrong,' while still maintaining her general stance that small guards don't typically lead teams to championships.
- The Aces coach's remarks came at Tuesday's shootaround ahead of her team's home game against the New York Liberty, with the Aces having won three of the past four WNBA championships and the Liberty winning two years ago.
- Hammon previously defended her comments on May 26 after Brunson was named Eastern Conference finals MVP when the Knicks swept the Cleveland Cavaliers — making Tuesday's remarks her second defense in recent weeks.
Why it matters: Hammon's 'outlier' label is a rhetorical compromise — she preserves her original 2023 thesis that small guards don't typically win titles while still crediting Brunson's Finals MVP. The framing matters because it keeps her standing as an ESPN commentator intact while testing whether the basketball establishment will accept one exception or has to rethink the rule entirely.
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