New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson won the Jerry West Trophy as the 2024-25 NBA Clutch Player of the Year on Wednesday.
Brunson, 28, received 70 of 100 first-place votes as the player who best comes through for his team late in close games. A global media panel voted based on nominations from NBA head coaches.
Brunson averaged an NBA-high 5.6 points in clutch situations, which are defined as possessions in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime when the score is within five points. In those instances, he also led the league in field goals made (52) and ranked second in total points (156) and third in total assists (28).
“I think some people are born into it,” Brunson said on TNT’s “Inside The NBA” on Wednesday night. “I think I had to learn back in high school, and I’ve gotten better and better at each stage, and here we are.”
The Knicks went 17-11 in clutch games involving Brunson, who shot 51.5 percent from the field and 84.0 percent from the free-throw line in clutch time.
“Just finding a way to win,” Brunson said of being more than a scorer. “I think that’s just most important. You can have clutch plays, but that doesn’t mean anything if you don’t win. The winning part is most important for me.”
A two-time All-Star, Brunson averaged 26.0 points and 7.3 assists over 35.4 minutes during his 65 regular-season games (all starts) this season. He ranked eighth in the NBA in both points and assists per game.
Brunson led the voting with 426 points, with 70 first-place votes (worth five points per vote), 24 for second (three points each) and four for third (one point each). Denver’s Nikola Jokic finished second with 312 points (26, 58, 8) and Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards was third with 47 (2, 5, 22).
The two remaining first-place votes went to Golden State’s Stephen Curry (fifth with 27 points) and the Lakers’ LeBron James (seventh with 14 points). Twelve players received at least one vote.
The previous winners of the award were Curry in 2023-24 and Kings guard De’Aaron Fox in 2022-23.
