76ers' Kelly Oubre says Knicks' Jalen Brunson's 'big head' makes him tough to defend
The Knicks' Jalen Brunson drives past the 76ers' Kelly Oubre Jr. during Game 1 on Monday at Madison Square Garden. Credit: AP/Seth Wenig
GREENBURGH — Jalen Brunson’s elite footwork, high basketball IQ and killer instinct are all commonly cited traits that make him one of the toughest players to cover in the NBA.
But his head size?
Yes, Brunson’s head size and the fact he flails it around and can whip people with his braids is apparently one of the things that makes the Knicks guard a difficult player to guard, according to Philadelphia guard Kelly Oubre Jr.
“Obviously, he has a big head,” Oubre said Tuesday, the day after Brunson scored 35 points to help lead the Knicks to a 137-98 victory in Game 1 for their Eastern Conference semifinal series. “It’s definitely hard to cover him with his head [flailing around].”
Oubre’s answer was so far out there that a good minute went by before someone asked him if he was joking or if Brunson’s head really got in the way.
“It’s a little of both. I’m sure. He’s got the braids,” said Oubre, who along with rookie VJ Edgecombe was Brunson’s primary defender. “He’s a very smart tactical player, so he uses all that to his advantage. But yeah, I’ll be there. He can whip me all he wants. But you’re not getting free like that.”
Oubre’s comments were made Tuesday after the 76ers' video session at a Midtown Manhattan hotel. Later in the day, Brunson was not one of the players who talked after Knicks practice in Westchester. Oubre’s comments were relayed to teammates Josh Hart and Miles McBride. And here’s the weird thing: No one disputed that Brunson has a big head.
“I feel like that was something that is very well documented,” Hart said about the size of his longtime teammate’s head. “So I don't think that was any shocker when he said that one.”
Brunson’s head size has been a running joke with Hart, who was also his teammate at Villanova. When the two were on "Late Night With Seth Meyers" two years ago, Hart said that a bobblehead that had been made to honor Brunson was “the first time they made a bobblehead the actual size of a head.”
Hart, however, said he has never seen Brunson use his head and braids to get an advantage.
“I never noticed it,” Hart said. “Trust me, if I did, I probably would have copied the same hairstyle, so maybe I would have got a couple more buckets or something like that. But that's an interesting analysis.”
McBride, who has had to guard Brunson in practice, laughed loudly when told of Oubre's comments.
“I don’t know if it’s a secret weapon or not,” McBride said. “But he’s talented, so he’s going to figure it out, regardless of head size or not.”
Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.
