After winning an NBA Championship in a season where LeBron James and Steph Curry lost, Jalen Brunson has beaten them to a different accomplishment as well.
Brunson is arguably having a better 2026 than any athlete across the major American sports leagues.
The hero of New York City, after leading the Knicks to a championship, proved his dominance on the court. But his cultural impact is now rivalling the living legends in the NBA right now.
Jalen Brunson beats Steph and LeBron for BET’s Sportsman of the Year
The 2026 BET Awards were held at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, with the awards highlighting Black excellence across various entertainment fields over the years.
Brunson won BET’s 2026 Sportsman of the Year, beating out LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Anthony Edwards, Aaron Judge, Jalen Hurts, Shedeur Sanders, and Caleb Williams for the prize.
This was Brunson’s second time winning the award. The first win in 2024 highlighted his emergence in the culture, but this latest win has cemented his name, as it comes weeks after he brought New York its first NBA Championship in 53 years.
James and Curry are always iconic, which is why they were nominated despite having middling seasons by their standards. Nonetheless, every season they play is a gift to the fans as they’re arguably the two best players of the last 20 years.
Now, Brunson is trying to chart his own course.
Jalen Brunson’s incredible year with the Knicks
Brunson averaged 26.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 6.8 assists over the 2025-26 regular season, making his third NBA All-Star team and being named to the All-NBA Second Team.
He led the Knicks to the No. 3 seed in a regular season filled with growing pains under new head coach Mike Brown. However, Brown cracked his system in the first round while Brunson embraced his ‘Captain Clutch’ persona to dominate.
Brunson averaged 28.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 6.1 assists in the Playoffs as the Knicks went 16-3 to win the title.
He averaged 32.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 4.6 assists in the NBA Finals, cementing his Finals MVP with a 45-point masterclass in the title-clinching Game 5.
Read more:
