Jalen Brunson’s awards snubs shows voters didn’t understand his impact on Knicks

MIAMI — While Jalen Brunson was ascending to a higher status of greatness in the playoffs, the annual NBA awards trickled in and demonstrated the Knicks point guard still hasn’t captured his due respect.

Brunson didn’t come close to winning any of the three categories that he should’ve been considered as a viable candidate. It followed up his snub for the All-Star team this year.

Meanwhile, Julius Randle, who had been a disappointment in the playoffs heading into Friday’s Game 6, was named to the All-NBA Third Team.

“Obviously, it’s a great honor. It’s a testament, you know, those things don’t happen without the group of guys that we have,” Randle said. “I’ve said it all year, it takes the belief of the front office,  our coaching staff, and most of all my teammates. They trust me to go out there and compete every night and play at a high level. I just Thank God. It’s a huge honor.”

As Randle spoke about the honor, teammate RJ Barrett was motioning like he was counting money. It was a reference to the performance bonus Randle might receive. However, Randle doesn’t have an All-NBA bonus attached to his contract. He already earned an extra $1.2 million this season by being an All-Star. If Randle is named All-NBA next season, he qualifies for a supermax contract as a free agent in 2026 or 2027.

But Randle hasn’t played up to a supermax contract. Brunson has.

The point guard entered Friday averaging 26.5 points, 5.9 assists and five rebounds with just two turnovers in the playoffs. His Game 5 performance — 38 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, one turnover in 48 minutes — was a gem that earned him high praise from the opposition.

“He has a great competitive will,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “So, he’s going to continue to attack, he’s going to try to manipulate the defense. He’s aggressive, he’s physical, but he also knows how to draw fouls.

“He’s clever, so he has that combination. So be it, you have to respect him as a competitor and then find a way to get the job done.”

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Brunson finished third for the Most Improved Player Award after Utah’s Lauri Markkanen and Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. He was 339 voting points behind Markkanen.

Brunson was fourth in the voting for the Clutch Player Award, finishing 383 points behind the winner De’Aaron Fox of the Kings.

For All-NBA, Brunson received just five votes for Second Team and eight votes for Third Team.

The Daily News voted Brunson on Third Team All-NBA and second for Most Improved. The voting process predictably created controversy when former Knicks point guard Mark Jackson, now an ESPN analyst, acknowledged that he absent-mindedly left Nikola Jokic off his MVP ballot.

“One thing I live by, you make a mistake, you own it,” Jackson said in an interview Thursday with SiriusXM NBA Radio. “Absolute mistake made by me… I’m thinking, how did I make that mistake? You can tell I put one center, two forwards and two guards. So I wasn’t even thinking.

“I apologize to the Denver Nuggets. I apologize to Nikola Jokic, who is not only in the MVP discussion and deserved to be on my ballot but he is one of the greatest players in the history of this game and a top-10 center of all time. So I own it. If you want to take away my vote or do whatever, more than welcome. I made a mistake.”