"I'm Taking Jalen Brunson": NBA Champions Picks Knicks Star Over Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks are still waiting for their NBA Finals opponents. The OKC Thunder are considered favorites, holding a 3-2 series lead. The San Antonio Spurs are still kicking, and they have a chance to even things up on their own home court on Thursday.

Even though there's a chance for the Western Conference Finals to go to a seventh game, some people are already thinking ahead to the NBA Finals. One of those people is Jeff Teague, who thinks Brunson will outplay Shai Gilgeous-Alexander if they meet in the Finals.

Teague, who won a title with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021, gave his thoughts on the Finals on the 'Club 520' podcast. According to him, Brunson has outperformed SGA in the playoffs so far, and he expects that trend to continue in the NBA Finals.

"I'm all the way in with the Knicks," Teague said. "None of them is f***ing with Jalen Brunson."

His take sparked a brief debate, with his co-hosts choosing SGA over Brunson. Teague, however, remained firm.

"I'm talking about this year, this playff run," Teague added. "Give me Jalen Brunson."

"I think the Knicks win, I think got the better team," Teague continued. He then highlighted that defensively, New York's squad has the edge.

"My theory is anytime he gets his matchup, he never lose," the 2021 champ said while the others debated him.

Of course, this is all hypothetical at this point. The Spurs could win Games 6 and 7 and end up facing the Knicks in the Finals. In that situation, the conversation about matchups shifts.

Instead of talking about SGA vs Brunson, people will talk about De'Aaron Fox or Dylan Harper vs Brunson. The matchup between the bigs, Victor Wembanyama and Karl-Anthony Towns, will also take a bigger focus.

Regardless of who makes it out of the West, though, they'll be facing a better-rested Knicks squad.

Interestingly, the Thunder have had a clear advantage over the Knicks over the last three seasons.

Jalen Brunson and Knicks Haven’t Beaten the Thunder in Three Seasons

The New York Knicks have been a playoff squad since Jalen Brunson joined them in 2022-23. While they've been considered one of the league's powerhouses since then, there's one team they've clearly struggled to beat.

That is, of course, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder. In fact, over the last three seasons, the Knicks have lost every regular-season game against OKC.

When was the last time the Knicks beat the Thunder, you might wonder? Well, that goes back to the 2022-23 season. New York managed to beat OKC 129-119, splitting the season series 1-1. Since then, the Thunder has always found a way to come out on top.

The San Antonio Spurs are a different story. They have already faced the Knicks in a high-stakes matchup when they battled for the NBA Cup.

In that game, the Knicks defeated the Victor Wembanyama-led Spurs 124-113 for the in-season tournament title. As expected, Brunson led his squad and was named NBA Cup MVP.

Additionally, since Brunson joined the Knicks, they have split every season series against the Spurs 1-1.