SAN ANTONIO -- Jalen Brunson has seen just about every defensive coverage the NBA has to offer, but the Finals present perhaps the biggest challenge of all for the New York Knicks guard.
The San Antonio Spurs have the duo of young and energetic Stephon Castle, and otherworldly Victor Wembanyama backing him up. Castle stymied back-to-back Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference finals, and also has Anthony Edwards, Julius Randle of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Deni Avdija of the Portland Trail Blazers on his postseason jacket.
It appears Castle has Brunson's utmost respect and attention before the teams' series begins Wednesday.
"He's great. I think his intensity and tenacity is special," Brunson said during media day at San Antonio's Frost Bank Center on Tuesday. "He plays with a chip on his shoulder. He's had that since I've seen him at UConn. The way he's played over these first couple years of his career, he's going to be a great player, great defender."
Brunson hasn't had to put on his cape often this postseason, but the moment might call for it as the Spurs figure to be far more competitive than the Philadelphia 76ers and Cleveland Cavaliers, the two teams the Knicks swept on the way to the NBA Finals.
Brunson is still averaging 27 points and 6.6 assists in 14 playoff games. Castle has had success against Brunson in a limited sample size. Per genius IQ, Castle held Brunson to 3-of-11 shooting (27.3%) when matched up.
"I think what's worked for me is trying to be physical with him," Castle said. "He's obviously shorter than me, but he's a very physical guard, he gets to his spots well. Uses deception well, has great footwork.
"Trying to be as disciplined as I can, crowd his space, but not give him the angles that he's looking for. At this point he's seen pretty much every coverage, been guarded all kinds of ways."
Cleveland's Dean Wade had similar regular-season numbers against Brunson, but it amounted to nothing when it counted. Castle just missed making the NBA All-Defensive team this season, the player who received the most votes without getting one of the 10 spots.
Spurs coach Mitch Johnson gushed over Castle's defensive prowess but stopped short of putting the second-year guard with some of the league's greatest names simply because, "I don't want to get crucified."
"But in terms of output of energy, when you think about what he's doing defensively and offensively, it takes you to some really rare territory of names that you may not want to say in terms of because you're not comparing him to that person or this person," Johnson said.