Jalen Brunson has been the driving force of the New York Knicks’ turnaround as a franchise in recent years.
The team in the Big Apple have been an Eastern Conference playoff contender over the past three years, recently advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals this past season. It was the Knicks’ first time they’ve advanced that deep into the postseason since the 1999-00 campaign. Brunson has emerged as one of the top players in the NBA, finishing fifth in MVP voting during the 2023-24 season.
The Eastern Conference appears to be wide open this upcoming season with the Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum sidelined due to an Achilles injury and Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton out for the 2025-26 campaign due to his own Achilles injury. With the Eastern Conference weaker with two major stars being injured, the Knicks have the second-best odds of winning the conference behind the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Even with that being said, Brunson doesn’t want the Knicks to get into a relaxed state of mind as they aim to complete the deed and win their first NBA Finals since 1973.
“I think we’ve been taking steady steps every year,” Brunson told Games Hub in an exclusive interview on behalf of his partnership with BodyArmor. “The best part about our team is the chemistry we’ve grown and we’ve created. A lot of people help us on this journey, and to be able to be where we are now, it’s nothing to be satisfied about.
“Hopefully we don’t have that mindset going into the season where we think we’re just going to jump back into the Eastern Conference Finals. We need to be able to go through this process again and continue to get better and the fight to get over that hump.”
Brunson: KAT has been a ‘phenomenal’ addition
The Knicks made a major move prior to the start of last season, shedding major parts of their core by trading Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo for Karl-Anthony Towns. The move paid dividends as the Knicks finished 51-31, their best record since the 2012-13 season.
“It’s going to take all of us,” says Brunson. “It’s not going to take just one change or another small thing. It’s going to take all of us together to kind of put everything aside and pull together.”
The addition of Towns lifted the Knicks from being ranked 19th in points per game during the previous season to ninth. The five-time All-Star big man was named an All-NBA selection after averaging 24.4 points, 12.8 rebounds and 1.0 steal per game during his debut season with the Knicks.
He proved to be a compatible match with Brunson as the two-time All-Star guard averaged a career-high 7.3 assists in addition to his 26.0 points per game.
“He’s been phenomenal for us, in the locker room has been great,” Brunson said. “On the court, he’s been great. The things that he’s been able to do in a short period of time being a Knick has been amazing. Having him as a teammate has been really fun. I think that gets overlooked how good of a teammate he is. Obviously, he’s a great player and what he does on the court. But the teammate he is and what he brings to the locker room for us is special. So I’m really happy to have him.”
Brunson — who is the same age as Towns — says they not only get along really well on the court, but they do so off of it as well. The 29-year-old says they “joke around” all of the time. When asked to make a player comparison for Towns, Brunson says the big man is unique and he’s his own player.
“Don’t think you can compare him,” says Brunson of Towns. “He shoots the ball so effortlessly, and he can make plays. He has great touch around the rim, so he’s pretty much his own person. He picks different games of styles of basketball, and kind of makes it into his own.”
Brunson: I stopped playing NBA2K when they made me right-handed
The Knicks have won a playoff series in three consecutive seasons, their longest streak since at the turn of the millennium in 2000 when they were led by Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing. Brunson compliments the “process” the Knicks have gone through as they’ve emerged as one of the elite teams in the Eastern Conference.
“I think our process and everything we’ve been doing going forward has been great for us,” says Brunson. “It’s been a great test, having learned. Everyone says, ‘Oh, you need to get experience.’ Well, this is us getting experience. This is literally us going through the trials and tribulations of being a good team. So continue to do that and just find a way to see what can we do to get over that hump.”
When asked about his objectives for this season, Brunson says it’s only team-based goals and not individual.
“All my personal goals are team-based,” says Brunson. “If everyone’s able to feed off that, that’s all I’m worried about. I’m not really worried about anything that benefits me solely if it doesn’t help us to get where we’re going.”
Brunson, who is the 13th-highest rated player in NBA 2K with a 93 rating, makes a surprising revelation — he’s not a big video game or NBA 2K guy at all.
“I’m not a big video game player and I’m not a big 2K player,” says Brunson. “I’m very thankful for my rating, obviously. I’m in the 90’s. I think in my first year in 2K I was made right-handed. I haven’t played 2K after that.”
