Knicks' Jalen Brunson is already considered among the franchise greats, just imagine if he wins an NBA title
Knicks guard Jalen Brunson holds the Eastern Conference Championship trophy after Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Cavaliers in Cleveland on Monday. Credit: AP/Sue Ogrocki
When the clock finally ran out on the Eastern Conference Finals Monday night and the Knicks gathered on the court at Rocket Arena to accept and embrace the trophy as champions, the final detail was to hand out the Bob Cousy Award for the most valuable player of the series.
In a sense, the award could have gone to almost anyone as the Knicks seemed to manufacture near-flawless performances up and down the roster in the sweep to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time in 27 years. But in reality, there was never a question who would be the unanimous choice — the honor was given to Jalen Brunson.
Everything the Knicks have accomplished, everything that has been built to form this roster, really begins with Brunson. He was the player whose arrival began the climb to these lofty heights, the one who opted to sign a contract that would provide the flexibility to create the roster that surrounds him now, and who became the captain that has forged the character of this team that finds itself chasing a place in history, just four wins away from a championship that has eluded the Knicks for 53 years.
“What a wild surprise,” Karl-Anthony Towns joked when asked about Brunson’s MVP status. “I think he just puts the work in. We always talk about, that’s what I think makes all of us special because all of us are putting work in, but he also really, really puts the work in. And I know if you know JB’s merch line and everything like that, it’s always about ‘The magic is in the work.’ He’s a testament to that. He believes in that. He showcases that every single day to all of us and drives us all to be better.”
Mike Brown talks often about the standards of the team, a contract signed by everyone in the organization, from the last player on the bench all the way to Madison Square Garden chairman, and one of the tenets of it is sacrifice. But long before he arrived, Brunson began to balance the thin line between superstar and sacrifice.
Just weeks after he had completed a season in which he finished fifth in the NBA MVP balloting, earning a second-team All-NBA spot, he opted to sign a four-year contract extension that he was more than pleased with, worth $156.5 million. But he passed on the opportunity to wait another year and get a deal that would have earned him another $113 million. While people close to him talked about the deal he signed being enough to provide for generations of his family, it also gave the team the flexibility to begin the series of deals that followed — signing OG Anunoby to a new contract (pricier than Brunson’s at five years and $212 million), and then trading for Mikal Bridges and Towns.
But it is on the court, whether behind closed doors at practice or under the theater lighting at Madison Square Garden, where Brunson is clearly the leader of the team. Sometimes it comes — rarely — in the form of what you saw in Game 1 of the conference finals when he stood up during a timeout as the Knicks were falling into a deep hole and he animatedly spoke to his teammates. More often, it comes in a quiet manner, in setting an example.
“Most superstars I've been around work extremely hard,” Brown said. “But his work ethic, man … it's off the charts. Like, we have shootaround usually at 10 a.m. And he goes, whether we're at home or on the road, every freaking day. And I'm a late-night guy, and I had to adjust because he makes me tired. I’ve got to get up now at 7:30 and meet with my coaches, because we're having an early shootaround. And not most of the time. Every time. His work ethic is second to none.
“On top of that, you know, he's pretty even-keeled. Never gets too high, never gets too low. And when your leader’s that way — which you need to have, especially when you hit adversity — it’s easy to get everybody else to follow. I can be that way. But as a coach, players are gonna tune me out at times. But when it comes from within, it's hard to tune each other out, especially when it comes from your leader or your best player.”
John Starks, who was a key part of the Knicks squad then went to Game 7 in the 1994 NBA Finals, said, “These are such even-keeled individuals. All those guys. I think Leon (Rose) and (William Wesley) did a great job putting together like-minded individuals. And that’s what it takes. Guys that are not gonna get too high, get too low, and they cheer for one another and they like one another. That’s what it takes, to have that togetherness, because things can get tough. You got to know who’s in the same boat as you. You don’t want to see guys jumping ship. And these guys don’t jump ship. If the boat’s gonna go down, they’re gonna go down together.”
That is a reflection of what Brunson has brought to the franchise, the traits that put him on the cover the New Yorker for a story titled, Kings of New York, featuring an imagine of Brunson towering over an array of legendary Knicks.
“It’s cool. Obviously you always want teammates and friends to get recognition for everything that they’re doing,” Josh Hart said. “It’s super dope that’s how he’s being viewed now. Obviously he’s very humble. He’s not going to really make too much of it until he retires. But it’s cool he gets that recognition.”
“I think first and foremost it means a lot, the belief that the organization has in me, from Mr. Dolan down through Leon, Wes, the coaching staff and obviously my teammates, it means a lot," Brunson said. "It’s something I haven’t really put into perspective and thought about it because as I said before we’re still writing our story. I think in due time I’ll be able to answer that in full entirety but I like the journey that we’re on right now.”
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
