The point guard, the son of a former Knick, grew up around the team. Now he is leading their revival as they aim for a run to the NBA finals
To fully appreciate how Jalen Brunson has redeemed the New York Knicks, who on Thursday night saw off the Philadelphia 76ers to reach the last eight of the NBA playoffs, you must understand the context and history of point guard for the team. After team owner James Dolan was handed the Knicks on a silver platter by his Cablevision-founding father in the late 1990s, the Knicks slipped into chaos and degradation. The conspicuous void at the point guard position reflected the lack of leadership on and off the court. This exacerbated the team’s dysfunction, as they lacked a true floor leader to galvanize the mismatched pieces.
Until Brunson’s arrival, that is. The 27-year-old isn’t merely turning the Knicks into a contender. He is fulfilling the dreams of generations of Knicks fans who have only known losing or forgotten what winning feels like. The son of Rick Brunson, the former Knicks third-string point guard and John Chaney protégé known for a journeyman career full of hustle, defense and energy, Jalen shares his father’s role-playing heart while imbued with the championship desire and failure of Rick’s doomed 1999 finals squad. Little Jalen was bouncing around that last great Knicks team, attached to his father’s hip at team practices, where Tom Thibodeau was an assistant coach to Jeff Van Gundy, and Leon Rose, Rick’s agent, were mainstays.