According to Max Kellerman, championships are a huge reason for the opening day game.
The Philadelphia 76ers open the season against the New York Knicks, and a certain sports analyst believes this is because LeBron James' “chief rival” is Jalen Brunson.
To make a comparison between Brunson and James is actually insane when it’s said out loud. Max Kellerman made the comment to Rich Paul and said that Brunson has what James wants in regard to an NBA championship.
“LeBron is coming to take what Brunson has. That’s what he wants; he wants to win a championship, and he put himself on a hell of a championship to do it," said Kellerman. “The four top draws in the NBA right now are LeBron and Steph and Wemby and Brunson.”
Let’s address the want for a championship first. Saying LeBron is chasing Brunson is disrespectful. There’s nothing that Brunson has done that exceeds anything James has done in his career. Are Brunson and the Knicks the current champions? Yes. However, this has no bearing on Kellerman’s argument.
Furthermore, going to Philadelphia ensured that James would have a fighting chance at least to compete for another championship. Now, Kellerman has gone out to say that they made Philadelphia face the Knicks because Brunson rivals James, and that’s just not the case.
The fact of the matter is this is the biggest draw when you talk about opening night for the NBA season. It has nothing to do with a rivalry between the two stars. It’s more based on the rivalry between the two teams and the additions of Jaylen Brown and James for Philadelphia. Let’s not forget New York bounced Philadelphia out of the playoffs last year. So maybe it was more about that and not just some fake narrative about Brunson and James.
Now, let’s address the other idea of Brunson being in the top four of draws for the NBA. First off, if anyone is a draw, it’s the New York Knicks team, not Brunson. New York City is a major city that brings a boatload of money for the association. According to Forbes before the Brunson trade, the Knicks were valued at 5.8 million dollars. Meaning regardless of who played for the team, they were always considered an available team for the NBA.
The mere fact that Kellerman puts Brunson in high regard says much about his play, but it doesn’t mean he cracks to four just because he won an NBA championship for a starving franchise.
When the Knicks and 76ers face off, it’ll be a hell of a matchup. But it will be the best team that prevails.
