ESPN’s Richard Jefferson Talks Knicks-Spurs NBA Finals Game 2 with Rich

Richard Jefferson had a simple verdict on what the New York Knicks are doing right now: this is one of the top five playoff runs in NBA history, and it's still climbing.

Jefferson, the NBA champion who was calling Game 2 of the Finals for ESPN, joined Rich on The Rich Eisen Show before tip-off to break down a Knicks team that had won 12 playoff games in a row by a combined margin of over 270 points.

Rich opened with the obvious question: what is happening with this team? Jefferson didn't complicate it. "Sometimes certain teams, it just all comes together at the right time," he said. He credited coach Mike Brown for adjusting the offense in the Atlanta series and giving Karl-Anthony Towns a more central facilitation role. "I think Cat was happy to sacrifice shots and scoring, but having him more involved, I think that gave Cat this extra boost of confidence."

On Jalen Brunson, Jefferson was unambiguous. A few weeks earlier he had said you cannot win a championship unless your best player is performing like one of the top two or three players in the world. He stood by it. "Currently, that's what Jalen Brunson's doing." He pointed to the mentality of a team that has won 12 straight and keeps expecting to win the 13th. "What in their brain is saying that we can't sweep our opponent? And that's not being disrespectful to the Spurs. I'm giving people an insight to their mentality."

That respect for San Antonio ran through the whole conversation. Rich noted the discussion kept drifting past the Spurs as if they weren't there. Jefferson redirected. "Make no mistake. This San Antonio Spurs team was down 3-2 against the defending champions and had to go on the road and win a game seven." He called it appropriate fear. Victor Wembanyama is a player where "if he decides that tonight is my night and I might go 40 for 20, there's not a defense, there's not a player been created" who can stop him. The Knicks' job, Jefferson said, is to make sure that night doesn't happen.

Jefferson drew a direct parallel to his own 2016 Cavaliers team. His Cavs entered that postseason on a 10-game winning streak, set an NBA three-point record in a four-game Atlanta sweep, and were rested while Golden State wore down. "We were rested and they got more fatigued as the series went on." He sees similar dynamics here: "When I look at this Knicks team, they have all of the pieces. They have all of the players. They have everything."

On Wembanyama's rough Game 1, Jefferson raised something worth sitting with. "There's an emotional roller coaster people have to understand. Your mental emotions can also make you physically drained." He noted this was the 22-year-old's first Finals game. Still, he expects a response. Wembanyama played in the gold medal game. Stephon Castle won a national championship under Dan Hurley. "These young players have been in the biggest moments in basketball," Jefferson said. "Now when you get into a seven-game series, you're like, oh, we have room for error."

Before signing off, Rich floated a line: Wembanyama is the biggest French import to New York since the Statue of Liberty. Jefferson improved it. "The Statue of Liberty was a gift to America. Wembanyama isn't. Not to the Knicks fans. Not to Madison Square." He closed by placing Wembanyama alongside Shohei Ohtani as players the whole world should want to see. "We've never seen something like this."

Just not tonight. Not if the Knicks have anything to say about it.