Knicks All-Star Jalen Brunson won't be losing his humility anytime soon
Knicks guard Jalen Brunson gestures after scoring a three-point basket late in the fourth quarter against the Houston Rockets in an NBA game at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 3. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
It was at this time of the season a year ago, as he prepared for his first NBA All-Star Game, that the video of a young Jalen Brunson sweating alone on the court made its appearance, with the only accompaniment the urgings of his father, Rick, and his mother, Sandra, as the pre-teen worked through the heat.
It was worth recalling where it began for Brunson as he ascended to this next level. It's worth it again now that the rise has continued with another step up: a starting role in Sunday night's All-Star Game.
His father was a journeyman through his NBA career, hanging on for nine seasons — including 1 1/2 with the Knicks — and his mother was an accomplished volleyball player for Temple University. Just as his father starred for Temple, Jalen was an elite college player for Villanova. But none of that mattered when he got to the NBA as a second-round pick and had to prove himself all over again.
Rick had gone from college star to grinding to stay in the league. Maybe few expected Jalen to be any different. He was undersized and without the elite athleticism that wows the scouts and executives on draft day.
But prove himself he did, over and over, rising into a rotation piece behind Luka Doncic in Dallas before signing as a free agent with the Knicks. It took until his sixth season to earn his first NBA All-Star spot. Now, this season, he is an All-Star starter and arguably the best point guard in the Eastern Conference.
When the overachieving underdog becomes the star, how does he stay there? If the work ethic honed when he was a child got him here, how does Brunson retain that attitude when he has reached these levels?
Jalen Brunson of the Knicks works against Dorian Finney-Smith of the Los Angeles Lakers in the first half at Madison Square Garden. Credit: Jim McIsaac
“I have a decent circle who keeps me humble,” Brunson told Newsday. “So no. I think my mindset stays the same where I just want to get better. I know there’s a lot more for me to achieve. I want to win.
"All the individual stuff is great. I’m really thankful. It’s goals of mine, of course, but the main thing is for me to win. That’s what I focus on. When I focus on that, the individual stuff comes. But my main focus is just winning. It’s always been that way.”
“That’s an interesting question because you feel like how could he not [change]?” his mother said. “But I feel as though he's still the same person, but the level of accountability that he puts on himself increases. And it’s not necessarily putting pressure on himself, but he keeps trying to strive to do better, to do more. It doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s going to score all the points. He knows the type of players that are around him and he just wants to amplify. It’s like a utility knife. He knows what is needed. So I feel like he’s learning how to thrive in other areas and not just settle.”
GETTING BETTER AND BETTER
It has been a steady climb for Brunson, from averaging 17.9 minutes per game in his second season with the Mavericks to starting 61 games in his fourth and final season in Dallas. He jumped to career-bests of 24.0 points and 6.2 assists in his first season with the Knicks, finishing 12th in the MVP balloting. He stepped that up to 28.7 points and 6.7 assists last season — ranking fifth in MVP voting and earning second-team All-NBA honors — and averaged 32.4 points in the postseason.
This season, with Karl-Anthony Towns sharing the scoring load, Brunson is averaging 26.1 points and 7.5 assists, still the most dangerous player on the floor with the ball when the Knicks need a basket but more intent on directing the newly constructed roster. The Knicks are 36-18 at the All-Star break and are third in the Eastern Conference.
But to a man, the Knicks' coaches and players insist that nothing has changed.
“I think that’s the way he’s wired,” said coach Tom Thibodeau, who has known Brunson since he was a child running around the Knicks' locker room and then as a high school star in Chicago. "I think he’ll never be satisfied. He’ll continue to get better and better. He’s always trying to add something to his game, he’s a student of the game. Great work ethic. And he understands that things are always changing. He’s always looking at different defenses, what teams are trying to do to him. He tries to stay one step ahead, which is a credit to him.”
In the offseason, Brunson might have become even more popular for his off-court work than what he achieved on it. He became the Knicks' captain and signed a contract extension that allowed the team to have the flexibility to build the current roster around him. It provided security for his family (as he became a father), but he passed on the chance to wait until next summer, when he could have signed for an additional $113 million.
Jalen Brunson of the Knicks drives against Jaylen Wells of the Memphis Grizzlies during the second quarter at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 27. Credit: Jim McIsaac
It is easy to say that the work stays the same and the attitude doesn’t change, but how do you remain humble when every trip to the free-throw line at Madison Square Garden — and plenty of other arenas — is accompanied by chants of “MVP!” raining down on him? Signs are waved in front of him that feature him as the king of New York.
“Yeah, none of those are self-proclaimed, thankfully,” he said. “I hear them and I adore them. I’m very thankful for them. Obviously, I’m thankful for that. I don’t want to — it’s just not who I am to embrace that, to embrace those titles. It’s just not who I am to do that.
“Like I said, you’d be surprised at how humble my circle keeps me, and I love it that way. I don’t want to change. I don’t want anything to change about me. The way I was raised, the way I want to raise my kids — to work hard and be humble and do all that stuff. Obviously still be confident in yourself, but understand there’s bigger things and better things to be proud of and accomplish.”
It’s why, as he readied to fly across the country to San Francisco for the All-Star Game, he resisted taking any bows for his play or for what the Knicks have done to this point.
“We haven’t really accomplished anything,” he said. “We have a long way to go to get to where we want to go. It’s all about just taking one day at a time. Right now it’s just to rest and recharge and come back ready to go.”
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.
