Jalen Brunson's return to practice gives Knicks a sense of wholeness
Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks looks on with his teammates during the second half against the Portland Trail Blazers at Madison Square Garden on March 30, 2025. Credit: Jim McIsaac
ATLANTA — As the Knicks went through practice Friday afternoon at Georgia Tech, it was nearly a full house. Jalen Brunson was back for a full workout along with Deuce McBride and Cam Payne — a promising showing as the postseason approaches.
The Knicks have seen their postseason chances derailed by injuries in recent years, but on Friday, there was optimism. All of the pieces are falling back into place, rested and ready and needing to get through the final six games. And with Brunson back — whether he returns to game action Saturday here against the Hawks, Sunday at home against Phoenix or even Tuesday against Boston — the Knicks feel whole again.
“It was good to have a whole group of guys to work together, and we’ll see how everyone feels tomorrow,” coach Tom Thibodeau said, noting that Brunson got the contact work on the court that was a next step and adding that his conditioning is better than most recovering players.
“Good for the first day. He’s put a lot of time into that,” Thibodeau said. “I think that’s part of his awareness of knowing, obviously it was an ankle so it was a bit more challenging, but he spent a lot more time in the pool, on the bike. He’s been on it from the beginning, when you’re working out two, three times a day. But there’s nothing you can do that can replicate the intensity of a game.”
The Knicks have been without Brunson for 14 games, compiling an 8-6 record. In his absence, the Knicks have not only managed to remain the third seed in the Eastern Conference but have found some things that could help in his return. OG Anunoby’s offense has flourished with more opportunities and the defense has shown hints of being what the team hoped when Anunoby and Mikal Bridges were paired.
“Obviously, when you get to the playoffs, you want to be playing your best basketball,” Josh Hart said. “It’s hard to be playing your best basketball if you’re not healthy. It’ll be good to get those guys back — some tomorrow, some the next day, some the following day . . .
“He’ll probably be able to play four or five games for us towards the end of the season, so hopefully he can get back into a little bit of rhythm offensively. That’s where the strides OG and [Bridges] have been making offensively in his absence is going to come in handy.”
In Brunson, Thibodeau saw leadership even from the sideline.
“He has a unique way of leading,” he said. “I’m not a big rah-rah vocal guy. Most of those guys say all the right things and do none of them. I’m more like, what’s a guy do every day? That’s what I believe culture is. Are you early to practice, do you practice hard? Do you concentrate, do you give maximum effort all the time, are you a good teammate, do you help lift people up? Those are the things I think are more important than yapping.”
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.
