![\"Jalen](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2270144782-1.jpg\")
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The NBA has shared some Jalen Brunson news just days before the team takes on the Atlanta Hawks in the playoffs.<\/p>\n
The New York Knicks<\/a> have a chance to go all the way in the NBA playoffs<\/a>, and Jalen Brunson<\/a> is one of the players who\u2019s a real difference-maker for the team. Now, heading into the team\u2019s series against the Atlanta Hawks<\/a>, which kicks off on Saturday, April 18, the NBA<\/a> has announced news on Brunson.<\/p>\n Brunson became a part of the New York Knicks in July of 2022, inking a four-year, $104 million contract<\/a> with the team after leaving the Dallas Mavericks<\/a> and becoming a free agent, according to NBA research<\/a>. He became the face of the franchise almost from the start and got the team to the playoffs during the 2022-23 season, marking their first playoff appearance since 2013.<\/p>\n NBA Shares Exciting Historic Stat on New York Knicks Player Jalen Brunson Ahead of Series Against the Atlanta Hawks<\/p>\n On Thursday, April 16, the NBA took to social media to announce<\/a> that with Brunson\u2019s 25-plus PPG series, he\u2019s now tied with the legendary Bob McAdoo and Carmelo Anthony for the most in New York Knicks history.<\/p>\n \u201cBrunson making history with the legends, NYK got a real leader. Playoff mode activated,\u201d one follower responded on X<\/a>. \u201cThat\u2019s elite company. Brunson really cementing himself in Knicks history alongside legends. Title hunt mode activated,\u201d another said<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cBrunson really walked into the Garden and saved the franchise in two seasons. Build the statue already,\u201d one more said<\/a>.<\/p>\n So, it\u2019s yet another reason to celebrate all things Brunson as this team heads into their playoff series against the Hawks. They\u2019re favorites to go far, and it\u2019s an exciting time to be into the Knicks.<\/p>\n NBA Analyst Pushes Back on Narrative That the New York Knicks Will Have It Easy<\/p>\n Even though the New York Knicks are strong going into the playoffs, nothing is a given in the NBA. In a feature for CBS Sports<\/a>, John Gonzalez says that even though he has the Knicks winning in the first round, New York shouldn\u2019t expect it to come easy.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile I picked the Knicks to beat the Hawks in the first round, I don\u2019t feel good about it and the Knicks shouldn\u2019t expect it to be easy,\u201d he says in the piece. \u201cNew York is the favorite in that series, but the Hawks have been one of the hottest teams in the NBA since the All-Star break.\u201d<\/p>\n Since the NBA All-Star break, the Hawks have loaded up on wins, only being outpaced by three teams: the Spurs, Thunder<\/a> and Celtics.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s also worth noting the Knicks were merely break-even against teams that were .500 or better. Feels like an upset alert,\u201d Gonzalez adds<\/a>. \u201cAt the very least, the Knicks would have rather faced the Raptors<\/a>, who were the one \u201cgood\u201d team they dispatched with ease all season, winning all five meetings.\u201d<\/p>\n James Herbert of CBS Sports agrees. \u201cMaybe I\u2019m crazy, but I think the Hawks and Knicks are on about the same level,\u201d he says in the same feature, \u201cas evidenced by the game they played a week ago that came down to the last fraction of a second.\u201d<\/p>\n So, it\u2019s possible that the New York Knicks fall early and hard to the Hawks. But, if Brunson has anything to do with it, that won\u2019t happen.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tAnne Erickson<\/a> is an award-winning reporter for Heavy Sports covering the NFL, NBA and college football. Anne Erickson has years of experience covering the NFL and additional sports, and her work has been published via ESPN, Fox Sports and more. She has interviewed some of the biggest names in sports, including Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff. Erickson also hosts several podcasts and is a Detroit-based radio host. More about Anne Erickson<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Knicks\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty The NBA has shared some Jalen Brunson news just days before the team takes on the Atlanta…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":712065,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3776],"tags":[676,208,3874,7,677,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-712064","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-atlanta-hawks","8":"tag-atlanta","9":"tag-atlanta-hawks","10":"tag-atlantahawks","11":"tag-basketball","12":"tag-hawks","13":"tag-nba"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116416922582376102","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/712064","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=712064"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/712064\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/712065"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=712064"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=712064"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=712064"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}