The deficit was enough for Jalen Brunson. Once again, he tapped into his Mamba Mentality. Brunson scored 10 straight points to pull the Knicks back into the game.
They never looked back. He added five more points in the closing minutes, delivering New York its first championship in 53 years.
Basketball has always run in Jalen’s genes. His father, Rick, spent nine seasons in the NBA but played for eight different teams, never earning a long-term contract. He was mostly a role player, and his goal for his son was obvious – to make him better, so he could go further.
“Rick had high expectations,” said Baker Dunleavy, the general manager of Villanova. “He would never shy away from saying, ‘I have a different plan for Jalen than for me. I don’t want him to be me as a player. I’m training him to be different. I don’t want him to be a guy that is just a role player.’”
He was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, but his family later settled in the Chicago area, where he grew up. But before they moved to Illinois, Rick worked as an assistant coach at Virginia. He had non-stop access to their elite practice facility. Yet instead of using the air-conditioned gym, he often took Jalen to an outdoor court nearby and put him through gruelling workouts in the summer heat.
Grind in the heat
As a child, Jalen would run up and down the court, exhausted but silent, getting up shot after shot without complaint. He writes and eats right-handed but shoots left-handed, just like his father. Understanding the importance of fundamentals, Rick even taped Jalen's right thumb to his hand to reinforce proper shooting mechanics.
“He’s just like, ‘I want to be a great basketball player. This is what I want to do with my life.’ He had great clarity on that from a young age,” said Dunleavy.
The hard work paid off. In his senior year of high school, he averaged 23.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 5.2 assists while shooting 38 % from deep. He was ranked the No. 1 point guard in the 2016 class, even though that year was regarded as a weak point guard class. The lefty playmaker had scholarship offers from the top programs in the country and ultimately chose to attend Villanova.
He thrived there, earning a starting role as a freshman. He became a unanimous Big East All-Freshman Team selection. His path differed from many elite prospects. At 6-foot-3 and under 200 pounds, he lacked the size and athletic profile that NBA teams coveted. Rather than pursuing the one-and-done route, he stayed in school for three seasons. The decision paid dividends. At Villanova, he won two national championships in three seasons.
His junior year, Brunson averaged 18.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 4.6 assists while shooting 52 % from the field and 41 % from beyond the arc. He was named the Big East Player of the Year, first-team All-American, and the Naismith College Player of the Year. His collegiate resumé seems to be endless. But his stellar career still wasn’t enough to convince the NBA he was ready for the next level.
Doubts from the scouts
Following his junior campaign, he declared for the 2018 NBA draft. But his decision was followed by immediate judgment made by scouts and managers; he wasn’t good enough for the best league in the world. He was too slow. Too small. Not crafty enough. It was like everything he did at Villanova vanished. According to the experts, his game wouldn’t translate to the next level.
The scepticism lived through the draft. Brunson fell into the second round. Three Wildcats – Donte DiVincenzo, Mikal Bridges, and Omari Spellman – were all selected in the first round. Jalen had to wait until the Dallas Mavericks took him with their 33rd overall pick. And despite drafting the point guard, even Dallas didn’t pay too much attention to Brunson at first.
Earlier in the draft, then-Mavericks general manager Donnie Nelson snatched an international superstar, hoping he would turn into a generational talent. One of the best players in the league. His name was Luka Doncic, and all eyes were on him. Until the training camp began. Only then did Nelson realise what kind of a gem he brought to Dallas. How lucky he got with this draft pick.
“He was murdering people whenever we’d go one-on-one,” one former Mavericks assistant coach told ESPN. “We had some great defenders on that team. And he’s not exactly deceptive in what he’s trying to do. You know what he’s going to do. But no one could stop him.”
From the very beginning of his professional career, Brunson has been proving everybody around him wrong. His late-draft position didn’t affect his confidence – it fueled his fire. He tirelessly worked to earn an unshakable position on the Mavs roster. His efforts earned him a four-year, first-round-style $6.11 million contract. The first three years were guaranteed.
“All I know is he had the same things that Hardaway and Nash had -- heart, brains and balls,” said Nelson. “Those are things that generally don't fit into an analytics model.”
Still, the battle wasn’t won, and Brunson was going through challenges. Despite dominating the training camp matchups, he found his nemesis he couldn’t beat – Doncic. Brunson beat anybody else with ease. But the second he stepped on the court with Doncic, everything changed.
“Just seeing how effortlessly he did everything, it really made me question myself,” Brunson said. “I had to do all this work just to be in this position.”
Brunson responded the only way he knew how – hard work. He was doing repetitive drills of footwork. Perfecting his smooth touch around the rim. Knocking down shots from distance.
“The biggest experience you get,” Brunson said, “is actually going through things.”
The lefty point guard was coming off the bench at first, logging occasional starts. In the 2021-2022 season, Brunson turned into a starter and averaged 16.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 4.8 assists, all career-highs. He helped the Mavericks to reach the Western Conference Finals.
New chapter
His historic year put his name on the map, and when free agency hit, the New York Knicks called. Brunson signed a four-year, $104 million deal and took the Big Apple by storm. He scored 15 points along with nine assists in his debut, and his numbers kept going up through the season. Multiple 40-point games. NBA Player of the Week awards.
In March, Brunson earned NBA Player of the Month honours for the first time after averaging 27.3 points and 6 assists in February while shooting 42.6 percent from three-point range. The Knicks went 9-2 during the month and closed it on a six-game winning streak.
The momentum carried into the following season. In December, Brunson scored a then-career-high 50 points. Two weeks later, he dished out a career-best 15 assists. By season's end, he had earned his first All-Star selection and a spot on the All-NBA Second Team.
The franchise rewarded him with a four-year, $156.6 million extension. Although he could have pursued a five-year, $256 million deal the following summer, Brunson chose financial sacrifice over maximum earnings, giving the Knicks greater flexibility to improve the roster. Months later, New York acquired Karl-Anthony Towns.
Brunson continued ascending as the Knicks continued improving. Jalen was named the team captain, was voted an All-Star Game starter, and earned a spot on the All-NBA Second Team for the second straight year. He was also named the NBA Clutch Player of the Year – in do-or-die situations, he led the league in made field goals and ranked second in total points. In other words, when the game was on the line, Brunson stepped up and put the team on his back. And it worked.
The Knicks reached the Eastern Conference Finals but bowed down to the Indiana Pacers, falling one step short of the grand finale. The leadership fired Tom Thibodeau and hired Mike Brown. The change paid off. New York edged San Antonio in the NBA Cup final to claim the trophy in December, as Brunson led the way with 25 points and eight assists. He was named the NBA Cup MVP.
Wins and trophies
In the postseason, the third-seeded Knicks faced the sixth-seeded Atlanta Hawks in the first round, eliminating them 4-2. Then, New York hopped on a 13-game winning streak; after sweeping the 76ers in the second round and the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals, they also took the first two games of the Finals. On San Antonio’s home floor.
The Spurs never recovered from the poor start to the series. Although they avoided a sweep with a Game 3 victory, New York delivered the knockout blow in Game 4. Trailing by 29 points in the first half, the Knicks stormed back and grabbed a one-point lead with 30 seconds remaining. San Antonio briefly regained the advantage at the free-throw line before OG Anunoby tipped in a Brunson three-pointer at the buzzer to complete one of the greatest comebacks in Finals history.
Brunson finished with 36 points and seven assists. New York owned Game 5, outlasting the Spurs 94-90, closing the series 4-1 and lifting the Larry O’Brien Trophy. New York secured its third NBA championship in club history after waiting for over half a decade.
Brunson netted 45 points in the closing game – setting a franchise NBA Finals record for points in a game and joining Michael Jordan as the only two guards in history to score at least 45 points in an NBA Finals closeout game. Brunson was named the Finals MVP. Over the five-game series, Brunson averaged 32.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and two steals per game.
With his Villanova teammates – Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges – they became the first trio to win an NBA title and an NCAA title together. The championship is proof of Brunson’s influence. Before his arrival, the Knicks had posted only four winning seasons in the previous 21 years. With Brunson leading the way, they recorded four straight winning campaigns. New York reached the playoffs six times during that earlier stretch and won just one postseason series. Since Brunson arrived, the Knicks have won eight.
The best of the best
“There’s always been this thing with Jalen,” said Sean Ford, the director of USA Basketball. “From high school to USA Basketball to Villanova to the Knicks, everyone’s like, ‘He’s really good, but I don’t know if it’ll translate to the next level.’ But then it always translates.”
As a toddler, Brunson spent time in NBA locker rooms - including the Knicks' - while his father was still playing. Back then, he had no idea he was going to take over the entire city one day. Now, he owns New York.
“Every level I’ve been at, I’ve been doubted. Or there was a ceiling put on me. I never listened to it. I was going to make strides to get better every time I stepped on the court. For these kids, they can do whatever they want to do as long as they believe in themselves. That’s what I want kids to take from here. Just be yourself and work hard. And believe. You got to believe,” said Brunson.
Through every setback and every success, his confidence never wavered. It was built on preparation, discipline, and countless unseen hours in the gym. Eventually, that work came to fruition. The doubted prospect became an NBA champion, a Finals MVP, and the king of New York.