Carmelo Anthony Reveals What He Told Jalen Brunson Before Crucial Game 5 of NBA Finals

After a 53-year championship drought, the New York Knicks are once again NBA champions. Jalen Brunson, the NBA Finals MVP, led the Knicks to beat the San Antonio Spurs in five games. While Brunson has undoubtedly evolved into a bright star of his own, he still listens to the legends of the game.

Basketball Hall of Famer and former Knicks star Carmelo Anthony shared the story of what he told Brunson before Game 5 of the finals. With New York being up 3-1, Anthony told Brunson to stay aggressive. In Anthony's opinion, having an unrelenting attitude is what would win the game for the Knicks.

"My message to JB was game 5, put the pedal to the metal, but also take their first punch," Anthony said on his podcast, 7PM in Brooklyn. "If you take that first punch, it’s your time. You going to take over. Like, it’s you going to take over. You going to feel it, you going to feel like them exhale. Because if you watching it, you can see it. And that game 4 just took a lot out of the Spurs."

True enough, it seems that Brunson did take Anthony's advice after an explosive 45-point performance. While the Spurs managed to keep the game close, concluding with a 94-90 finish, it's clear that JB's unwavering scoring became too much for San Antonio to deny.

Before Game 5, there were reports that the NBA Finals MVP voters were leaning towards selecting OG Anunoby, especially after he hit the game-winner in Game 4. However, Brunson's 45 points that overwhelmed the Spurs are what solidified his case to be named the Finals MVP.

Brunson is now the first player in history to win the NBA Cup MVP, Eastern Conference Finals MVP, and NBA Finals MVP awards in the same season. However, before this, there had been a lot of noise regarding his gameplay.

Jalen Brunson calls out haters

Before Jalen Brunson led the New York Knicks to an NBA title, many believed that he wouldn't be able to lead his team. This was mainly due to Brunson being an undersized guard. Analysts would also often note that JB is more of a 1B star rather than a 1A star. For context, 1B stars typically still need another 1A star to help them win.

However, after being crowned an MVP three times for three different categories this season, Brunson has earned the right to call out his doubters. During his championship parade speech in New York, the Knicks star had the last laugh and shut down all the haters.

"There's a lot of people that have a lot of negative stuff to say," Brunson said in his championship parade speech. "There's a lot of people that have a lot of opinions. But when you prove them wrong, you don't have to say s**t to them."

Brunson then thanked and acknowledged everyone who has supported him throughout his journey to help secure a championship for the Knicks.

"First and foremost, I want to say thank you to Jim Dolan and the (Knicks) front office for believing in a kid no one else would," Brunson said. "Thank you to my teammates who gave me confidence every single day. ... Thank you to our coaching staff, our medical staff, everyone who pitches in every single day behind the scenes. Damn. We really did it, dawg.

"Somehow, some way, I knew we were going to find our way to get this done. Most importantly, thank you to the fans. Not gonna lie though, y'all are some pretty hard critics. But we appreciate it, at least I do."

For now, the Knicks team will enjoy a much-deserved vacation before the front office gets back to work when free agency and the trading market open up again.