{"id":775892,"date":"2023-03-30T12:00:49","date_gmt":"2023-03-30T16:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/?p=775892"},"modified":"2023-05-13T14:34:59","modified_gmt":"2023-05-13T18:34:59","slug":"jalen-brunson-243","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/the-magazine\/jalen-brunson-243\/","title":{"rendered":"Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks are Proving Everyone Wrong"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A lot has changed for Jalen Brunson in the past year. He\u2019s on a new team and has returned to the city his father, Rick, played in. He got engaged to his high school sweetheart, and a few months later, his Villanova college jersey was retired. Then there\u2019s everything Brunson has accomplished on the court, from averaging new career-highs this season to emerging as a certified NBA superstar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the Knicks point guard pulls up to our office in Long Island City for his SLAM cover shoot, it\u2019s clear that the man himself hasn\u2019t changed since the last time we saw him. Brunson is still as focused as he was in Dallas\u2014even sharper now. He\u2019s figured out a way to not only elevate his own game, but help lead an entire franchise to new heights. Is this what he meant last year when he said that he didn\u2019t think about how well he was doing\u2026because he knew he could be doing even better? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou had to bring out the receipts, huh?\u201d Brunson says when we bring it up on set. \u201cI definitely have improved. I think it’s a mixture of work ethic, opportunity, fit and a little bit of luck, too. I mean, it’s a mixture of everything, but I’m honored to have the opportunity to go out there and play every other night and do what I can to help the team win. I just feel like whenever I step on the court, I have to be the best player I can be. And then we go back and watch [film] and [it\u2019s like], how can I improve? And that’s just been my mindset since I can remember.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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SLAM 243 featuring Jalen Brunson is available now. Shop now. <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve told this story before: how his mother, Sandra, taught him early on how to set goals and envision what he wanted out of life, while his father, Rick, who had a nine-year yourneyman career in the League and played on the Knicks inin the \u201990s, pushed him and showed what staying true to the grind really means.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The too-small-kid out of Stevenson High School became the best point guard in the country and then a champion at Villanova. When his opponents were bigger, faster and stronger in college, he\u2019d think to himself, How can I be creative? How can I get my opponents off balance? <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, at 26 years old and in his fifth year in the L, Brunson is writing a new chapter. He\u2019s become that<\/em> much more dangerous, especially when he\u2019s beating dudes off the dribble and hitting them with the dream shake. \u201cHow can I use my smarts versus their athleticism?\u201d Brunson says. \u201cI’ve always been that way and it’s worked. It’s gotten me here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHere\u201d is the mecca of basketball. New York City has produced point guards so undeniably smooth with the rock they\u2019ve become cultural icons, from God Shammgod to the Jelly Fam. Brunson, who grew up in Cherry Hill (NJ) back when Rick was suiting up in blue and orange, isn\u2019t super flashy or hitting three-to-the-dome celebrations in Madison Square Garden like Melo, but he\u2019s been exactly what the Knicks have needed to bring them back to the playoffs this season. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing the point guard of the Knicks is special. It’s like a dream come true. You’re playing for a legendary organization, a legendary city,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd you just have to go out there and perform and just be yourself. And I think all year that’s what I’ve done. I’ve gone out there. I’ve been myself. Obviously you don\u2019t play great for 82 games, but I give effort every time on the court. If I play with effort, just be genuine, be myself, not really care about anything going on but keep winning as my most important thought. The city of New York can praise you, but just gotta go out there and just be you.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Everyone is going to have an opinion, and when Brunson signed with the team during free agency, there were plenty of things said about him, including that he was overpaid and overhyped. \u201cA lot of people [that] are saying the things that they’re saying, whether you’re playing basketball or doing whatever, they probably can’t do it to a level that you could do it. You don’t really worry about it\u2014you just focus on yourself, focus on what you can control. And that’s my mindset. This is how I’ve always been and this is how I’m going to be for the rest of my career.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People also thought that the Knicks weren\u2019t going to amount to much. But as we go to printers, they’re fifth in the East and legitimate playoff contenders. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wait, run that back. The Knicks are\u2026what?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the same franchise that\u2019s been building and working to get to this point. Every win was a step forward. And sure, missing the playoffs last year and losing in the first round the year prior seemed like two giant leaps backward, but you can\u2019t deny that they\u2019ve been making major strides this season. They\u2019ve shown that they can hold their own against teams like Philly, Denver and Boston. They\u2019ve had not one, but two serious winning streaks\u2014eight games in December and a nine-game streak in February. Who\u2019s laughing now?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brunson is having an even better season than he did last year, and averaging new career-highs across the stat sheet: 23.8 points and 6.1 assists per game, shooting 41.4 percent from behind the arc. The duo of JB and Julius Randle, who was named an All-Star this past February, is just pure magic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe’s been special since I got here,\u201d Brunson says of Randle. \u201cJust to see how hard he works, how careful he is with his craft and how bad he wants to win, and we share that. Obviously, we’re both lefties\u2014including RJ [Barrett] we’re all lefties. But we all want to win.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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