2026 NBA Playoffs: The Psychotic Drive to Prove Doubters Wrong

There are some things in life that just cannot be measured.

TRB Sports on The Recess Bell:

In the world of sports, player "measurables" are the center around which everything orbits.

How tall are they? How long is their wingspan? How large are their hands?

Yeah, sports organizations do background checks and character evaluations on players, but that's almost always secondary to the players' physical tools.

I've written about the phenomenon that is Jalen Brunson multiple times before. In short, he's a little point guard that has just led his team in achieving one of the biggest, grandest goals possible: getting the New York Knicks to the NBA Finals.

Jalen Brunson receives the Larry Bird Eastern Conference Finals MVP trophy following the Knicks' sweep of the Cavs to advance to the NBA FInals. GREGORY SHAMUS / GETTY

To understand Jalen Brunson is to understand three things. You must understand his physical stature, his mental makeup, and his transcendent leadership qualities. They all feed into one another, and they're the central factors that have transformed the previously hapless Knicks into a playoff powerhouse that the sport has quite literally never seen before according to the stats (and your eyes if you're watching in good faith). These qualities also combine into one common denominator that has driven his and his teammates' success.

Doubt.

One of the most powerful motivators in the world (if not THE most powerful motivator) is when someone tells you that you can't do something. That you're not good enough to get something done. That you won't win when it's all said and done.

Brunson measures out at about 6'2" and 190 pounds. Many pro basketball players of the size and stature of Brunson's have found success in the league before. The issue that many find with Brunson as a player is that they question how far Brunson can actually lead a team as said team's best player. As WNBA legend Becky Hammon infamously stated in 2023, only two pantheon-level small guards have ever led an NBA team to a championship as the "1A"; that would be Isiah Thomas and Stephen Curry.

Conventional wisdom: Brunson isn't going to be able to do it, because him being an outlier superstar on that level is extremely unlikely.

I don't think this was a narrative that was new to Brunson given how his pre-NBA career went. One of the most efficient scoring guards in NCAA history while at Villanova University, Brunson led his Wildcats to two National Titles. This included an incredible junior year in which Brunson received multiple awards honoring him as the very best player in college basketball that season.

That was only good enough to make him a second-round pick of the Dallas Mavericks, while he watched other more physically-gifted prospects go pick-after-pick ahead of him.

Brunson eventually got his chance to lead a franchise upon signing with the Knicks, although New York was ripped and ridiculed by media and fans alike for giving Brunson 4 years and over $100 million.

Brunson idolizes the late Kobe Bryant. He was first connected with Bryant through his mother, Sandra Brunson, as Sandra was roommates with Kobe's sister Sharia at Temple University. Kobe once told a 15-year-old Jalen, "why work if you don't want to be the best?"

If you're not aware, Kobe Bryant is notorious for his "Mamba Mentality."

“Mamba mentality is all about focusing on the process and trusting in the hard work when it matters most... It’s the ultimate mantra for the competitive spirit.  It started just as a hashtag that came to me one day, and it’s grown into something athletes -- and even non-athletes -- embrace as a mindset.” -- Bryant during a 2018 interview with the Amazon Book Review. 

LEFT: a teenage Jalen Brunson posing with his mother Sandra for a picture with Kobe. RIGHT: Jalen now exclusively wears Kobe's Nike shoes and filmed a commercial last summer with Bryant's daughter, Natalia.

"The ultimate mantra for the competitive spirit." The modern athlete's handbook to maximizing one's potential to the highest extent.

Being a Knicks fan in the Brunson era has brought me many joys, but I think what I find the most joy in is Brunson's consistent ability to "up the ante." He continues to pleasantly surprise Knicks fans through his psychotic drive to become better, and better, and better...

And I think how much he gets doubted has everything to do with that.

Constant praise and adulation can make one complacent and even lazy. "I've already accomplished so much, I've already made a name for myself, they already love me so much... blah blah."

It's no coincidence that some of the greatest basketball players to ever play: the aforementioned Kobe, Michael Jordan, Steph Curry, and others.. they've all openly discussed how they've gone out of their way to seek out negativity and doubt about them as a driving force of motivation.

Each of those players in turn maximized their abilities (whether God-given or otherwise) to win championships, MVPs and Hall-of-Fame jackets. And I trust that Brunson is well on his way to joining them.

I believe that the ability to motivate oneself to this "psychotic" level is a skill. It's a skill because mindsets aren't inherited, they're learned. Some crumble in the face of doubt, ridicule and criticism. But some possess that special skill to channel that negative energy into their work and preparation. It drives their psyche for that extra push needed during pivotal moments in games. It sharpens their sword. It makes them better.

I have a phrase that I swear by: a team or group is only ever as good as its LEADERSHIP is. It doesn't matter what how much talent is in the room or anything else. If a team has faulty or poor leadership, the walls of the entire operation WILL come crumbling down eventually; just a matter of time. You don't know when exactly it'll happen, but it'll happen.

Adversely, if a team has great leadership at the top, everyone's skills can get amplified to the point that collective belief in the mission at hand can become impenetrable. We're watching this with Brunson and the Knicks in live time.

Knicks head coach Mike Brown made comment today at Knicks practice about Brunson's impeccable work ethic. If you don't believe me, take it from the guy that coaches Jalen day-in and day-out:

"When you have that from your best player, it makes it easier to coach everyone else." That's because great leadership always sets the example for others to follow.

Every person, whether in sports or otherwise, that possesses this talent; this drive to always prove the doubters wrong through their work and subsequent execution, sets an example for the others around them to also follow suit. That's what's beautiful about community. Something that's developed by one person can be advanced as a powerful cause through the group if everyone is on the same page. That's why support systems are so critical and such a driver of collective success.

Since Jalen Brunson's chip-on-the-shoulder never goes away, the group's chips-on-shoulders don't either. It's an immense show of respect that that's the case, but it's respect that Brunson has earned every step of the way.

WENDELL CRUZ / IMAGN IMAGES

Put together enough sustained success, and those doubts that propelled you will slowly turn into acclaim. We're starting to see that with this Knicks team that was severely doubted and underestimated at the start of these playoffs. Of course, an 11-game win streak with the highest point differential ever recorded in postseason history to this point has a way of changing minds.

I keep using the word "psychotic" in describing Brunson and in explaining the entire point of this article, as you've probably noticed by now. It's not to be taken literally, but what I'm trying to say is that the people that are able to channel doubt and dismissal into greatness have reached a point mentally that most people on the outside looking in can't comprehend or understand.

It's similar to watching someone get punched, kicked, and body-slammed in a fight over and over and over, only to see said person keep getting back up and continuing to fight.

"Why wouldn't they just quit and run away? Why continue to push it?"

Because their mission isn't complete. It's "psychotic", it's insane, but it's true. Nothing can stop them from achieving their mission.

So, yes. The Knicks will very likely be underdogs in the Finals vs which team emerges victorious in the West Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder. Vegas will set the odds based on player personnel, team profiles, win totals... all things that can be measured.

Just keep in mind what can't be measured. It's the mentality and force that transcends height, weight, and overall physical tools. The drive to prove doubters wrong.