Jalen Brunson was despised by his country.
The point guard, perhaps the best player in the Eastern Conference this season, and arguably the best guard, was left off the 11-man Olympic roster revealed by ESPN on Monday.
American guards are Tyrese Haliburton, Devin Booker, Jrue Holiday, and Stephen Curry. Of this group, Halliburton is the only one yet to win a gold medal.
Brunson had a better NBA season than most, but he was on the U.S. World Cup squad last summer, but unfortunately missed out on a medal.
Although he lost to Haliburton during the tournament, coach Steve Kerr recently said he is “high on our list” to qualify for the Paris Olympics.
Apparently it’s not tall enough.
According to ESPN, the U.S. can bring in 12 players, but “may keep one spot open initially.”
Other players scheduled to participate are LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Jayson Tatum, Anthony Edwards, Bam Adebayo and Anthony Davis.
Josh Hart also became part of the Olympic hopefuls after competing in the World Cup, but was never a serious contender to compete for a spot in Paris.
Meanwhile, Brunson averaged 38.5 points in his final four games, capping off a breakthrough NBA season with Player of the Week honors once again.
Brunson has won the Eastern Conference Player of the Week award for the fourth time this season and fifth time since joining the Knicks, making him the most for the franchise since Carmelo Anthony.
The Knicks went 4-0 in the final week. Brunson shot 51 percent, including 50 percent from beyond the arc.
He was also named the Eastern Conference Player of the Month for March.
But he is not on the Olympic team.
OG Anunoby is in good shape heading into the playoffs.
That wasn’t necessarily a given after the defensive stalwart underwent elbow surgery and suffered a setback that forced him to miss nine more games.
But Anunoby’s final six games (including five wins) went by without incident, and the postseason will be his final test before likely hitting free agency.
The Knicks are the frontrunners to re-sign Anunoby, who is expected to decline his $20 million player option for next season. The Knicks own Anunoby’s Bird Rights, so they could bring him back over his cap.
“Oh, great team, great organization,” Anunobdi said Sunday. “The front desk is great. The fans are great. It’s a great city. MSG is great. So far it’s been great.”
Anunoby has a championship ring, but did not play in the 2019 season with the Raptors because he was diagnosed with “acute appendicitis.”
He has appeared in 27 career playoff games, all with the Raptors, averaging 11 points, 4.5 rebounds and shooting 49% from the field.
Coincidentally, Anunoby could face former Sixers coach Nick Nurse in the first round in Wednesday’s play-in game against the Heat.
The winner will play the Knicks at MSG on Saturday.
“It would be cool to play Nick,” Anunoby said. “He’s also a great coach. I’m sure he’ll get the team ready.”
Defensively, Anunoby doesn’t have a clear primary mission against the Sixers, Joel Embiid is too big and Tyrese Maxey is too fast, so the Knicks will be using Anunoby against Tobias Harris in January. was appointed.
However, he has the switch ability to allow for good coverage in pick-and-roll action.
Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post
“OG, what I love about him, he’s going to make you work,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “Even if you score a goal, he’ll come back the next time and do the same thing over and over again. That’s what I like about him. His staying power. After that, He’s found his rhythm offensively. We need him to be at his best.”
Perhaps Anunoby wasn’t completely at his best at the end of the season, not after such a long layoff, but he got better and stayed healthy.
Thibodeau apparently did not receive votes from his colleagues for the Coach of the Year award.
Mark Daigneault, who led the Thunder to 57 wins and the top seed in the West, won the National Basketball Coaches Association’s NBA Coach of the Year award, the league announced Monday.
This is different from the more recognized NBA Coach of the Year, which is voted on by the media. Introduced in 2017, the NBCA award is decided by a vote of other head coaches, and Dynor, just 39 years old, is the first recipient of the award.
Others who voted were Orlando’s Jamal Moseley, Boston’s Joe Mazzula, Cleveland’s JB Bickerstaff and Minnesota’s Chris Finch, according to ESPN.
Thibodeau, who led the Knicks to 50 wins this season, has never won an NBCA award. Even when he won NBA Coach of the Year honors for the second time in 2021, his colleagues voted for Phoenix’s Monty Williams.
