Count Charles Barkley among those in Jalen Brunson’s camp.
The Knicks guard finished tied for second in the NBA All-Star voting with the Bucks’ Damian Lillard, but with the Milwaukee guard garnering more fan votes, he will take a starting spot on the Eastern Conference squad over Brunson.
Speaking on TNT’s NBA coverage on Thursday night, Barkley felt that Brunson was deserving of a spot for the season he’s having in New York.
“I’m never gonna show throw shade at Dame Lillard,” Barkley said. “I love him as a person and as a player, but I would have loved to see Jalen Brunson be a starter.”
The Pro Basketball Hall of Famer then said that Brunson, 27, has made New York “relevant” and is one of the great free agent signings in league history.
While he got some pushback from his co-panelists on that last point, Barkley defended himself and reiterated why he thinks Brunson has been a special player.
“What Jalen Brunson has [done] for the Knicks, he made the New York Knicks relevant for the first time since Patrick Ewing — plain and simple,” he added.
Barkley wasn’t the only one in the sports community upset by the snub, either.
ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins took to X and wrote about his displeasure in seeing Brunson not being named a starter.
“Jalen Brunson not being an All-Star starter in the Eastern Conference is a damn tragedy!” Perkins wrote. “I can’t wait until tomorrow when I in front of that camera on NBA Today! That’s some BS! Carry the hell on…”
Coming into Thursday night’s game against the Nuggets, Brunson was 12th in the league in points per game (26.6) and 16th in assists (6.5).
Lillard ranks 16th and 12th in those categories, though Bruson has him beat in field goal percentage (47.5 to 42.6) and 3-point percentage (42.3 to 34.7).
Now, Lillard will be making his eighth All-Star team while Brunson awaits to see if he’ll be added as a reserve.
