Mikal Bridges Responds To Becky Hammon's Criticism Of Jalen Brunson

Just like most great athletes, New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson dealt with a ton of naysayers en route to becoming a champion.

Back in December 2023, Las Vegas Aces coach Becky Hammon said the Knicks wouldn't win a championship with Brunson as their best player because he's "too small." Her comments have resurfaced countless times this NBA postseason due to New York's dominant run.

After the Knicks clinched a spot in the NBA Finals, Hammon was given the chance to retract her old comments about Brunson.

"I speak from experience. Allen Iverson got MVP, and he lost in the finals. I think the two best teams are probably in the West, but I'm up for being proven wrong," Hammon said. "That's the other thing, I think Jalen Brunson's a hell of a player, a hell of a player. I'm speaking historically on the NBA with what I said. I don't know why everybody's so stuck on that. I said it two years ago. I said what I said. If he proves me wrong, he proves me wrong."

Well, Brunson proved Hammon wrong by averaging 32.6 points per game during the 2026 NBA Finals.

Now that Brunson is officially an NBA champion, Knicks fans are waiting for Hammon to issue an apology.

While it doesn't sound like that's going to happen anytime soon, Knicks forward Mikal Bridges made an interesting comment about Hammon on Instagram Live this Monday.

Bridges let the NBA world know that Brunson was motivated by Hammon's remarks.

"I appreciate Becky, no cap. The words she said about can't win with JB being 1A and he's too little, all that did was fuel him," Bridges said. "I don't care what he said. I know him. He ain't going to tell y'all. He knows what she said and it fueled him to go be great."

Brunson refuses to address his critics.

During Saturday night's postgame press conference, Brunson was asked if he had anything to say to those who doubted his ability to be the No. 1 option on a championship team. He was given a golden opportunity to call them out by name, but he opted to take the high road.

"I didn't respond to them then, and I'm damn sure not going to respond to them now," Brunson replied.

At the end of the day, Brunson will be remembered as a legend in New York. There's no reason for him to give his doubters the time of day.

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This story was originally published June 15, 2026 at 4:02 PM.