Welcome to Glass Slipper! A little Packers-Eagles mid-game entertainment for you; please enjoy the show.

- Jacob Rhee

Mystery table time. On the left is 2023-24 Jalen Brunson, and on the right are the numbers of a fellow star. Each guy was in Year 6 of their NBA career when they posted these stats. Who is Player B?

James Harden is your answer. The similarities between these two run a little bit deeper than most people realize. Of course, each dude is a ball-dominant, left-handed point guard built like a tank. They are fantastic in the pick-and-roll, love stepback jumpers, and foul-bait with the best of them. Neither play good defense.

But have you ever noticed that their professional paths are essentially identical? Harden began his career as a highly overqualified role player, then immediately jumped onto the fringes of MVP conversations after switching teams. He showed up in the Most Improved Player voting three straight years, climbing from a bench piece to a bona fide No. 1 option. Everything single thing I just said happened to Brunson, as well.

We all know what James did after the 2014-15 campaign that I showed on the right side of that table. Harden made another leap, and ran off three consecutive scoring titles. He grabbed the 2018 MVP, and very well may have won a ring had Chris Paul not gotten hurt in the Western Conference Finals. At no point was Harden the best player in the world, but his prime was legendary nonetheless.

So can Jalen emulate his jumbo basketball doppelgänger one more time and reach yet another level? I think so. There are too many mouths to feed on the Knicks for him to average 36 a night like Mr. Beard did once upon a time, but Brunson could absolutely enter some rare air anyway. In fact, we kind of already saw it. Let’s chop off the up-and-down start to his last campaign, and take the final 68 games he played in the regular season. That’s still a full year of basketball; Brunson averaged 29.6 points and 7.1 assists on 48.6% shooting from the field. Here’s a full list of everyone who has hit all of those thresholds in a season since the NBA added a three-point line.

• Michael Jordan

• LeBron James

• Dwyane Wade

• Luka Doncic

Speaking of the three-point line, let’s add in Brunson’s 39.7% mark from distance across that 68-game stretch as a final requirement. Which of those dudes survive the cut? And… oh. No one.

If the 28-year-old does improve again, where does that leave New York? Can a roster full of college friends really steal a title? Could it happen as soon as this season?

To me, everything depends on the Knicks finding a way to get 48 solid minutes from the center position each game. Isaiah Hartenstein’s departure really, really stings. I still like the idea of trying Julius Randle and OG Anunoby at the five in short stretches, when Mitchell Robinson inevitably lands in foul trouble. I think Tom Thibodeau would be able to get away with it, especially if Julius comes back fully invested and in shape. Perhaps a more prudent course of action would be to flip Robinson and a couple of first-round picks at the deadline for a center than can close in a playoff series against Joel Embiid or Kristaps Porzingis. Maybe it’s Ivica Zubac. Maybe Clint Capela - who every single basketball fan has shipped to New York in a trade machine at some point - finally gets to the Knicks. Maybe my precious Cavs falter, and Jarrett Allen is available. Brunson and company might only be a piece away from having a real shot at this, and that’s an incredibly exciting spot to be in.

But even if New York never wins it all with this core, Brunson will be considered a hero in the city for the rest of his life. His $113 million pay cut earned him permanent New York icon status, and that is arguably more valuable than any sports achievement in existence.

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