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New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) drives as San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell (24) and guard Dylan Harper (2) defend during the second half of Game 5 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Saturday, June 13, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo\/Darren Abate)<\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n
As the final buzzer sounded Saturday night, giving the New York Knicks their first NBA title in 53 years, assistant coach Rick Brunson walked toward halfcourt at the Frost Bank Center. He hugged his son, Jalen, the star point guard who scored 45 points in the Knicks\u2019 94-90 Game 5 road victory over the San Antonio Spurs that long-suffering New York fans have been dreaming about for decades and will never forget. Rick then kissed Jalen on his forehead before Jalen wrapped a towel around his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt emotional from that point on,\u201d said Brunson, referring to the embrace with his father. \u201cAnd then I just remember (teammate Josh Hart) talking into my ear, him just saying, \u2018We did it. We did it.\u2019 I was emotional for a good five, 10 minutes and then the excitement started to kick in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brunson, a second round pick in 2018, wasn\u2019t supposed to be the best player on a championship team. Heck, many thought he might not be a starter in the NBA. But he is now undoubtedly a Knicks\u2019 legend who had one of the best performances in league history. It is the most points any Knick has scored in an NBA finals game and tied with Michael Jordan in 1998 for the most points in a clinching championship victory on the road. Brunson now may be the most beloved and decorated Knick since Walt Frazier, the point guard on championship teams in 1970 and 1973, the only other times they won<\/a> the title.<\/p>\n Before Brunson signed as a free agent in 2022, the Knicks had made the playoffs just six times in the previous 22 years and won only one postseason series. But with Brunson leading the charge, plus the free agent signings and trades for the other starters (Hart, Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby), the Knicks gradually improved. They made the Eastern Conference semifinals in 2023 and 2024. Last season, they advanced<\/a> to the conference finals for the first time since 2000. And now, they are just the third team in franchise history to win the title and will always be revered among Knicks\u2019 fans. The Knicks won 15 of their last 16 playoff games, the lone blemish coming in Game 3 of the finals when they lost 115-111 at Madison Square Garden.<\/p>\n For Brunson, the win is extra special because he has known about the Knicks\u2019 tortured history since before he entered kindergarten. His father was a little-used reserve guard on the New York teams that lost in the 1999 finals to the Spurs and in the 2000 conference finals to the Indiana Pacers. Brunson, who was born in August 1996, has fond memories from those days.<\/p>\n \u201cI remember running around the locker room, running around the court after the game,\u201d Brunson told<\/a> me in 2018 when he led Villanova to the Big East tournament championship. \u201cThe little things like that.\u201d<\/p>\n While Rick Brunson averaged just over three points per game in nine NBA seasons, he helped his son, especially after retiring as a player in 2006, even as Rick became an assistant and was on the road during the season. Still, Rick made sure not to push too hard.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of times, Rick would say, \u2018I\u2019m not going to be one of those parents. I don\u2019t need him to do this. It has to be him. It has to be him,\u2019\u201d Sandra Brunson, Jalen\u2019s mother, told me in 2018. \u201cJalen always came back. He always came back. Jalen was just adamant.\u201d<\/p>\n After Brunson won two NCAA tournament championships at Villanova and the national player of the year in 2018, the Dallas Mavericks selected him with the 33rd pick in the draft. Brunson improved during his four seasons in Dallas, including averaging 16.3 points and 4.8 assists per game in the 2021-22 season. But that summer, he signed with the Knicks, which also hired his father as an assistant and made him the centerpiece, something the Mavericks would never do.<\/p>\n In each of the past three seasons, Brunson has averaged at least 26 points and made the All-NBA second team. He has been even better in the playoffs, averaging 29.8 points and scoring at least 40 points in 10 of his 50 postseason games with the Knicks.<\/p>\n Still, nothing compares with Saturday night. At the end of the first quarter, the Knicks trailed 23-13, the fewest points they scored in a quarter this series. They were down by at least 10 points in the first quarter in each game against the Spurs. All told, they were outscored 157-101 in the first quarter in the finals.<\/p>\n \u201cFor some reason, I feel like the game for us starts 30 minutes later than it\u2019s supposed to,\u201d Brunson told Ernie Johnson on the postgame podium Saturday. \u201cWe didn\u2019t show up at 8:30. We showed up at 9:00.\u201d<\/p>\n At halftime, Brunson had 16 points and made 50% of his field goals, but the Knicks were down 42-37, with the other New York players making just 21.9% of their shots. They then got into an even deeper hole, falling behind by seven at the end of the third even as Brunson scored 14 in the quarter.<\/p>\n Brunson started the fourth on the bench before returning with the Knicks down 81-71 with 8:51 left. But about a minute later, Brunson drew a foul on Spurs guard Stephon Castle while shooting a 3-pointer, the start of a stretch when he scored the Knicks\u2019 next 13 points.<\/p>\n With 3:40 remaining, Brunson made three free throws to put New York ahead 86-85, its first lead since it was 5-4. The Knicks never trailed again. Brunson scored his final points on a floater with 1:05 left, giving the Knicks a 90-88 advantage. From there, the Knicks made just four of eight free throws, but the Spurs couldn\u2019t convert on multiple chances to tie or take the lead. <\/p>\n Brunson had 45 points on 14 of 27 field goals (51.9%), 4 of 7 3\u2019s (57.1%) and 13 of 15 free throws (86.7%), while the rest of the Knicks had 49 points on 17 of 60 field goals (28.3%), 8 of 30 3\u2019s (26.7%) and 7 of 13 free throws (53.8%). In the second half, Brunson had 29 points on 8 of 15 shooting (53.3%), 1 of 3 on 3\u2019s (33%) and 12 of 13 free throws (92.3%), while his teammates 27 points on 10 of 28 field goals 35.7%), 4 of 15 on 3\u2019s (26.7%) and 4 of 8 on free throws (50%). <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve known him for so long,\u201d said Bridges, Brunson\u2019s teammate at Villanova. \u201cI know how much he works, how great of a person he is, how great of a basketball player he is. I\u2019m just grateful to be on his side again.\u201d<\/p>\n Said Knicks guard Landry Shamet: \u201cHe is generationally great offensively\u2026Unbelievable performance by him. He obviously deserves all the flowers coming his way.\u201d<\/p>\n Brunson, as is his custom, deflected much of the praise coming his way. He prefers to talk about the process and his teammates. <\/p>\n \u201cWords can\u2019t describe it,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cBut I\u2019ll say I put a lot of time and effort into trying to be the best player I can be and try to help a team win. I\u2019m just really thankful I have the organization, the coaching staff, my teammates, to have my back every single day. I think that means the most to me.\u201d<\/p>\n Throughout the postseason, Knicks coach Mike Brown has referred to Brunson as a top-three candidate for the league\u2019s Most Valuable Player award. While he didn\u2019t finish in the top three of the MVP voting in the regular season, he did win the finals MVP, a much more satisfying honor.<\/p>\n \u201cEverybody kind of mentions his name in passing,\u201d Brown said. \u201cThey don\u2019t do it seriously enough. People say he\u2019s too small. People say he\u2019s a 1B or a 2B or whatever. He is a freakin\u2019 1A.\u201d<\/p>\n Brown joked that he wouldn\u2019t have taken a pay cut as Brunson did in the summer of 2024 when he signed a four-year, $156.5 million extension, $113 million less than he could have made if he had waited a year, per<\/a> ESPN. <\/p>\n