Jalen Brunson’s NBA Finals MVP campaign was inspiring, historic, and inefficient all at once, which is exactly what makes one particular stat worth a closer look.
The Knicks captain did not win the award because every shot was pure.
He won it because he never stopped taking the shots New York needed, especially when the title was there to be seized.
Jalen Brunson joins the poor Finals MVP efficiency group
Using StatMuse for the historical Finals MVP field-goal percentage list, then adding NBA.com’s 2026 Finals data, Brunson’s 42.1 percent shooting slots him into the five lowest field-goal percentages ever recorded by a Finals MVP.
“Kobe Bryant, 2010: 40.5 FG%
Michael Jordan, 1996: 41.5 FG%
Dirk Nowitzki, 2011: 41.6 FG%
Tim Duncan, 2005: 41.9 FG%
Jalen Brunson, 2026: 42.1 FG%”
That might sound harsh at first glance, but look at the company. This is not a list of weak champions. It is a list of all-time greats who carried enormous responsibility and still managed to find ways to win.
Across the five-game series against San Antonio, Brunson averaged 32.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 2.0 steals. He shot 42.1 percent from the field, 38.9 percent from three, and 86 percent at the line, while taking 26.6 shots per game.
Jalen Brunson’s title run was bigger than efficiency
Other Finals MVPs have posted cleaner numbers. Nikola Jokic, Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant, and Giannis Antetokounmpo have all delivered more efficient performances on paper.
But Brunson’s job was different. The Knicks needed him to absorb traps, attack Victor Wembanyama’s length, create late-clock offense, and keep firing even when the early numbers did not flatter him.
That pressure came because New York’s title run was built around his control. The Knicks were dominant through the East, then needed their smallest star to repeatedly settle Finals possessions against the league’s most intimidating defensive presence.
And it paid off. In Game 5, Brunson poured in 45 of New York’s 94 points, including 15 in the final quarter to seal the 94-90 win and end a 53-year championship drought.
There is a difference between inefficient and ineffective. Brunson’s shooting numbers were not perfect, but he was never ineffective as the driving force behind one of the most significant titles in Knicks history.
This stat should not diminish his achievement. It should highlight it. Brunson did not win Finals MVP by making the game look easy. He won it by being relentless, resilient, and willing to keep going until the Knicks were champions.
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