SAN ANTONIO — Jalen Brunson was fully aware of how much money some people spent to see the New York Knicks finally become champions again. Some tickets during the NBA Finals sold for $5,000, some for $50,000, some for probably more.
Of course, Brunson parted with more money than any of those fans.
Brunson, 29, is now an NBA champion and NBA Finals MVP in large part because of what he did against the San Antonio Spurs in the Finals — though, really, his biggest contribution to this title run likely came in 2024, when he left as much as $113 million on the bargaining table to allow the Knicks the financial flexibility they needed to finish building a championship roster.
It was considered an unprecedented move.
It paid off.
Brunson now has a seat at the table of sports kings of New York, alongside the likes of Derek Jeter, Eli Manning, Mark Messier and others. Deliver a championship to the Big Apple and you get celebrated for life. Brunson doesn’t seek attention — in fact, he genuinely seems to dislike it — but such is the risk one takes when he leads a storied franchise to its first title in more than a half-century.
There are countless reasons why the Knicks have turned their fortunes around over the last four seasons, but the list starts with Brunson. They had four winning seasons in a 21-year span before Brunson arrived; the Knicks have had four winning seasons in the four years that he has worn the franchise’s colors. They’ve won eight playoff series with Brunson in the lineup; they won seven series, total, from 1998-2022.
He’s a bona fide superstar as well, with three consecutive All-Star selections and three consecutive seasons in which he averaged at least 26 points. The only other players to do that in each of the last three years — be an All-Star and average 26 points in every season — are Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
They’ve all been NBA champions too. So, now, is Brunson, the former Lincolnshire resident who won the 2015 Mr. Basketball of Illinois award at Stevenson High.
“He’s a tremendous player that’s skilled, picks his spots, knows his angles, shoots contested shots without being sped up,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said earlier in the Finals. “He’s a phenomenal player.”
Texas has been good to Brunson when it comes to titles. Villanova’s 2016 championship was won in Houston, and the 2018 championship came in San Antonio — at the Alamodome, just a few minutes from the arena that the Spurs call home.
Oddly, Texas wasn’t always that good to Brunson as a pro — which is how he ended up in New York.
Brunson joined the Knicks in 2022 after leaving Dallas, which didn’t offer him a contract anywhere near what the Villanova alumnus felt he deserved.
And then, two years later, Brunson took far less than he had earned.
In 2024, Brunson signed a four-year extension with the Knicks that could be worth $156.5 million if he accepts his option for the 2028-29 season. If Brunson waited until 2025 for his extension, he would have been eligible for a five-year, $269 million deal.
He likely will recoup some if not all of that money in his next extension, one that could top $300 million — possibly by a lot. But by passing up the much larger guarantee then, he provided the Knicks with the ability to make other moves that are paying off now.
And among the ones that followed his June 2024 decision: The Knicks brought in starters Mikal Bridges (a former Villanova teammate) and Karl-Anthony Towns.
Could all that have happened if Brunson didn’t accept the smaller extension? Maybe, but unlikely.
“I think he’s still underrated in the league, and he keeps proving people wrong, game by game, series by series, playoff appearance by playoff appearance,” said Knicks forward Josh Hart — one of the ‘Nova Knicks,’ the moniker given to the trio of himself, Brunson and Bridges, all NCAA champions at Villanova who have now become NBA champions in New York. “As a friend, as a teammate, it’s funny because you know he’s one of the best players in the league, and you’re happy that he’s starting to get some recognition.”
He’s getting more than some recognition. He’s getting a ring.
