Stephen A. Smith makes his Finals MVP pick and it’s not Knicks’ OG Anunoby

New York Knicks fans have seen this film before, and unlike that evergreen Taylor Swift song, they do like the ending. In Game 5 of the 2026 NBA Finals, the Knicks fell down by double digits to the San Antonio Spurs in the early goings, only for them to overturn the deficit and come knocking at the door in the fourth quarter. New York has done it again on Sunday night, coming back from 16 down to take a 94-90 win to finally bring a title to the Big Apple after 53 long years.

There has been so much talk ever since the NBA Finals began as to which player would win MVP honors once all is said and done. For the Knicks, many have garnered consideration, as it is a team effort that has brought them this far — to the mountaintop and the pinnacle of team success in the NBA.

However, for diehard Knicks fan and famous pundit Stephen A. Smith, the answer to the MVP question is clear — it should be none other than Jalen Brunson, who poured his heart out in Game 5 to the tune of 45 points on 14-27 shooting from the field and 13-15 from the charity stripe.

“Btw……..if the @nyknicks come back and win this, no more noise about OG! @jalenbrunson1 cannot be denied MVP! Again……..IF the @nyknicks come back and win this thing,” Smith wrote on his official account on X (formerly Twitter).

Brunson hasn’t had the best of series in the NBA Finals, as he’s been prone to the slow starts that have put his team on the backfoot in all five games., Even then, it’s clear that the Knicks would be nowhere near the championship if it weren’t for him. Even on games where Karl-Anthony Towns or OG Anunoby stole the show, it was Brunson who stabilized the team and pulled them back from huge deficits.

Brunson would be a well-deserved Finals MVP winner, and it would be quite the culmination in his journey as a professional basketball player to hold both the Larry O’Brien trophy and the Bill Russell award for the Knicks.

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