“Ain’t Winning If His Name Ain’t Steph”: NBA Fans Back Up Becky Hammon’s ‘Too Small’ Jab on Jalen Brunson

The Las Vegas Aces have been a formidable force under head coach Becky Hammon. Her unapologetic, aggressive and blunt approach has resulted in the Aces becoming back-to-back WNBA championships. However, her bold and outright attitude outside the hardwood has received some heavy social media criticism recently.

The Aces matriarch made headlines after she passed an infamous comment on the New York Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson. As a result, she was under a lot of fire from the haters as they trolled her on X.

Becky Hammon comments on the Knick’s star guard

Becky Hammon was recently invited to ESPN’s NBA Today where she expressed her views about the Knicks’ being a mid-tier playoff team. The former WNBA star opened up about how the Knicks have not been at their best because of the unavailability of an elite No.1 in their squad. Becky said, “You gotta have a dude, you gotta have a 1A dude, and they’re missing that at the end of the day if we’re just getting down to brass taxes.” Following this, 2008 NBA champion Kendrick Perkins stepped in and said that the 6 ft 2 in guard Jalen Brunson is the “dude” in that Knicks’ locker room.

Hammon took no time to reply. she said, “Nah, he’s too small. If your best player is small, you’re not winning.” Soon after her remarks, she received backlash on social media. Consequently, she took to Twitter and defended her comment and further provided some more clarity. She shared a post with a picture saying, “I stand by my statement that I can’t put him in a LeBron, Steph, Embiid-type of 1A-tier player. If your best player is the smallest player on the court, you probably won’t win a championship. This game favors the tall. Wish it didn’t, but it does. – Sincerely, a small basketball player.”

Read More: What Did Becky Hammon Say About Jalen Brunson That Triggered NBA Fans?

Soon after, some people came to her rescue and agreed with the two-time WNBA-winning coach.

Fans back the Aces boss

After issuing her clarification, Becky seems to be receiving some support from her fans. One of her followers pointed out her experience in the NBA and justified her remarks. He said, “She absolutely right. She knows her NBA history. If that’s your best scorer clear cut you ain’t winning if his name ain’t Steph.” 

Another fan had some explicit thoughts on the skills of Jalen Brunson. He commented, “Sorry but she’s right. Brunson let alone his size ain’t enough to get you there.”

In addition to this, one X user went after Stephen Curry to show his support for Hammon. He tweeted, “Haha Steph Curry and the Warriors broke basketball, she’s right. In the history of the league it’s unheard of for the best player on 4 title teams to be 6’2. 30 is the goat.”

Moreover, one of her fans bashed her haters for being a woman hater. He expressed, “When your audience (clutch points) is full of women haters that hate BECKY HAMMON bc she’s a woman, maybe do some rethinking of the content you provide to have gotten here. Becky knows ball, Brunson is not you’re #1 option on a championship team.”

Furthermore, one basketball enthusiast brought NBA legends into the discussion to show his support for Becky. He remarked, “She’s not lying. Outside of Jordan, Curry, Isiah, & Kobe, guards don’t lead teams to championships. You need a dominant big man or a super special wing, Magic, Bron, KD, Bird.”

Watch This Story: Is Kim Mulkey Up for a Brittney Griner Like Fallout With Angel Reese?

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. The fact that Becky Hammon hasn’t retracted and stood by her comment shows that she meant no personal harm to Jalen Brunson. She was just expressing her independent views and wasn’t targeting the Knicks shooting guard. Although, the manner in which she landed her comments is still debatable.