Steve Popper: Jalen Brunson possesses the kind of toughness the 1990s Knicks featured

When the news came this past week that Jalen Brunson had undergone a surgical procedure to repair an injury to his left wrist, forensic teams — well, the fan base and media — began poring over videos, searching for the moment the injury occurred.

But it didn’t really matter, because if there is one thing we have learned about Brunson — aside from the fact that he’s overlooked and underrated — it’s that the trait that he truly inherited from his father, Knicks assistant coach Rick Brunson, is a 1990s toughness.

Ask Brunson about this injury and you’d get the same response he repeats when asked about any injury. “I’m good,” he says like a mantra, a rehearsed line.

He takes a hit or turns an ankle and we dissect the video as he heads back to the locker room — and then somehow returns to the court with a bit of tape or a tightened sneaker and doesn’t miss a beat, performing the same sort of heroics that he had been putting on display.

He does what made him the NBA Clutch Player of the Year in the 2024-25 season and earned him NBA Finals MVP honors just a month ago.

Are we surprised that he played through an injury that required surgery and not only earned MVP honors as the Knicks won their first title in 53 years but put on a historic 45-point performance in the series-deciding Game 5?

It won’t go down in franchise history like Willis Reed limping out of the tunnel in 1970 to make his way onto the court in Game 7 of the Finals. But there is something that needs to be marveled at, not just for the footwork and shot-making that Brunson provides but for pushing himself onto the court with no excuses.

He’s a throwback. Maybe not quite Reed, but definitely at least fitting of the era in which his father played.

n Summertime blues

Speaking of throwbacks, after the historic run through the postseason and all of the celebrations, the Knicks opened their Las Vegas Summer League schedule on Friday with the sort of performance in a 91-65 loss to the Nets that looked a lot more like the Alexey Shved-era 2014-15 Knicks team than the champs.

But the sort of embarrassing performance by the Knicks that used to come in the regular season came in a summer league game that means, well, very little. While it’s a nice showcase and a chance for fans and teams to get a glimpse of prospects, the most definitive statement you can make about summer league is don’t believe anything you see.

Look for hints, for snapshots of skill sets, but don’t worry about statistics or scores.

So the bright spot was the debut of second-round pick Tyler Nickel. He arrived with a reputation as a shooter and reinforced that Friday.

After the Knicks went nearly seven minutes without a field goal, Nickel came off the bench and sank a corner three-pointer. He finished the night 6-for-10 from outside the arc, displaying a quick release, and also worked well defensively.

In his second outing, a 70-49 loss to the Spurs, Nickel led the Knicks with 16 points, shooting 4-for-11 from three-point range.

The numbers? Take those with a grain of salt. But what you saw — the form, the release on his shot, the footwork on defense — are the things that you take as hints that he could stick.

Afterward, he spoke with reporters and seemed ready to go to work to earn a role in the NBA, comparing himself to Duncan Robinson, Max Strus and Sam Hauser, all shooters with size who have earned prominent roles. But for now, he was hoping to be a part of a team that could show him the way to that next level.

“Obviously, the Knicks, a championship organization, I thought it was perfect, a perfect situation to see what winning is all about,” he said. “The standard that they hold everybody to in the program, I feel like this is perfect to be around.”

What you really look at in the summer league is not only the players trying to find a way into the NBA; it’s also the players who already have been a part of the league to see if they can dominate. They should have talent a level above most of the league and experience that others don’t have.

So Pacome Dadiet showed some hints of that even in the loss, overcoming a sluggish start to finish with a team-high 20 points. Maybe it was a little concerning to see Mo Diawara misfire on eight of nine shots and produce more air balls than field goals made, but just as you don’t take much from summer league hot streaks, don’t take much from an off night shooting.

Diawara, 21, a second-round pick a year ago, was just signed to a four-year contract (only two years guaranteed) and showed glimpses of potential in the 2025-26 season, playing a huge role at times.

His numbers dropped after the All-Star break, as he shot 45.6% overall and 41.3% from three-point range before the break and 39.1% overall and 32.8% after it. He was dropped from the rotation by the time the playoffs arrived and struggled even in his brief appearances, shooting 3-for-13 and 1-for-6 from three-point range.

Diawara told reporters after Friday’s game, “I got to do way better. At the level we played last season, I got to do way better. I can’t play like I played today.”

He was scoreless and shot 0-for-5 in 26 minutes Saturday.

The Knicks believe he will play better. His size and skills indicate potential that they hope will help not only now, as he develops on a low-cost contract, but as a link to a future.