Leading man Jalen Brunson has Knicks back on center stage
Knicks guard Jalen Brunson reacts after scoring a three-point basket against the Nets in the second half of an NBA game at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 13. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Jeff Van Gundy has had a soft spot for Jalen Brunson ever since the Knicks point guard was a preschooler dribbling up and down the hallway outside the locker room at Madison Square Garden.
Still, Van Gundy, who coached the Knicks when Jalen’s father Rick played there, said there were few early indications that the younger Brunson was going to be the kind of franchise-changing addition that he has been this season for the Knicks.
“Jalen’s first year out he played in summer league, and he was so awful, he was beyond awful,” Van Gundy, who is currently an ESPN/ABC analyst, told Newsday. “He was overmatched and overwhelmed.
“I saw how he reacted to that. It was a steeled professionalism of ‘I got work to do.’ Then, he had an OK rookie season and was much better the next year and then the next year to the point where he got to where he is today. He is one of the guys you would say is at an All-Star level and one of the greatest signings in Knicks history.”
Greatest signings in Knicks history? That’s pretty heady praise from someone who was on the Knicks coaching staff when they signed John Starks, Allan Houston and Anthony Mason. Yet, if the Knicks can keep playing with the we-don’t’-get-outworked-by-anybody attitude that they have had all season, there may be a lot of people out there agreeing with Van Gundy.
Brunson, who has a sore left foot, did not play in Tuesday night's 112-105 loss to the Charlotte Hornets; the Knicks failing to win their 10th straight game. He also missed their double-overtime win in Boston Sunday. Yet, Brunson’s fingerprints are all over their recent streak just like they are all over this season.
Look at the way the Knicks outlasted the Celtics two nights ago. The Knicks had five players play 40 minutes or more (Josh Hart played 39:46). Immanuel Quickley, starting in place of the injured Brunson, played 55:06. It’s hard to see the Knicks outlasting the big boys in the Eastern Conference in a seven-game playoff series yet, but they have shown that they are headed in the right direction.
This team is so much better than the one that finished fourth two years ago, playing in the COVID bubble. The big reason is after all these years of riding a merry-go-round of subpar and over-the-hill point guards, the Knicks finally got their man.
Brunson just fits what Tom Thibodeau wants to do with his team. He has also made all the other pieces fit, and is at the root of everything good that has happened this year.
He has put the Knicks on his back again and again, making clutch shots when the team needs him most and making everyone else on the court better. He has made the Knicks' disparate pieces fit. His leadership skills have helped create an environment where Julius Randle can bounce back from a nasty season, Mitchell Robinson can look focused for an extended stretch and Quickley can have the kind of confidence he needs to be a hero when needed.
Van Gundy believes that Brunson’s greatest contribution may be seen in the offseason when a talented free agent actually takes a look at the Knicks and says “I’d like to play there.” Brunson has single-handedly changed the perception of the Knicks around the league.
“The Knicks have been in a constant state of upheaval for a while,” Van Gundy said. “Now, I think they are in a good place. They have a great coach and a great player. Does that mean they are a championship team? No. But they are on the way to true improvement. Now you have a foundation that can last. I think that’s been what’s missing”
Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.
