’He Know What She Said’ — Knicks Wing Mikal Bridges Reveals Becky Hammon’s Viral Diss ’Fueled’ Jalen Brunson
Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks proved their doubters wrong by upsetting the Victor Wembanyama-led San Antonio Spurs in five games in the 2026 NBA Finals.
Throughout the Knicks’ unexpected championship run, Las Vegas Aces coach Becky Hammon’s disparaging comments about Brunson’s viability as a No. 1 option resurfaced, with her controversial take ultimately aging extremely poorly. According to Brunson’s teammate Mikal Bridges, the Knicks star used Hammon’s skepticism as motivation to get over the hump.
Mikal Bridges Spills Tea on Jalen Brunson’s Reaction to Becky Hammon’s Viral Slight
New York was viewed as a heavy underdog entering the Finals, with many dubbing San Antonio’s seven-game Western Conference finals battle against the Oklahoma City Thunder the “real Finals.”
That sentiment didn’t deter the Knicks, though, as they fought their way back from double-digit deficits in each of their four victories over the Spurs. Brunson led the charge in Saturday’s 94-90 Game 5 road win, scoring a franchise Finals record 45 points en route to taking home Finals MVP.
New York’s title marked its first since 1973, once again thrusting Hammon’s unfortunate December 2023 quotes about Brunson’s limited star power back into the spotlight.
“At the end of the day, they don’t have a dude,” Hammon said at the time. “You gotta have a dude, you gotta have a 1A dude, and they’re missing that at the end of the day if we’re just getting down to brass taxes.”
Hammon added, “This is a game that, the big and bold, it favors that. I love Jalen Brunson, but you’re going to put him on the level of a 1A? You’re putting him with Giannis [Antetokounmpo], [Joel] Embiid, Steph [Curry]?”
Not only did Brunson prove to be a top-tier primary scoring option on a title team, but he did so on a Knicks squad that dominated the playoffs, finishing with a 16-3 record and a historic plus-283 point differential.
After sharing that he had indulged in early morning celebratory drinking on Monday, Bridges revealed on Instagram Live that Brunson was well aware of Hammon’s viral diss.
“He know what she said, it fueled [Brunson] to go be him. Go be f**king great,” Bridges said.
Upon New York clinching its first Finals berth since 1999, Hammon attempted to distance herself from her hot take, underscoring how small players have historically struggled to spearhead championship runs.
“I’m up for being proven wrong. That’s the other thing, I think Jalen Brunson’s a hell of a player,” Hammon said. “… I’m speaking historically on the NBA with what I said. I don’t know why everybody’s so stuck on that.”
Still, the NBA world doesn’t appear willing to cut the WNBA icon slack any time soon.
As for Brunson, who is basking in the glory of being crowned the “King of New York,” he jokingly called for “somebody [to] take Mikal’s phone” away as the Knicks wing’s livestream went off the rails.
