Star point guard Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks have been lighting the NBA world on fire in recent weeks. The Knicks have reeled off nine straight wins after Thursday evening's victory over the Indiana Pacers, and Brunson was recently recognized by coaches around the NBA, who voted him in as an All-Star reserve for the Eastern Conference.

In fact, so impressive has been Brunson's performance that even ESPN NBA insider Stephen A. Smith is taking notice.

“They won again last night,” said Smith, via his own account on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “It was largely due in part to first-time All-Star himself Jalen Brunson, who played lights out, dropping 40. The brother needs some serious MVP love, which the crowd at Madison Square Garden gave him after the win, bringing Brunson to tears. It's beautiful.”

Indeed, Jalen Brunson was showered with MVP chants by the Knicks faithful after Thursday evening's virtuoso performance. While MVP consideration might be objectively quite a long shot for the former Villanova guard, a barometer of his true value to the Knick's success will be revealed over the next several weeks as costar and fellow All-Star Julius Randle nurses a shoulder injury.

As a whole, the Knicks have taken off since their trade for OG Anunoby of the Toronto Raptors, putting together a month of January in which they only lost two games total. New York will next take the floor against the Los Angeles Lakers on February 3rd from the Garden.