A simple one-block cover, straight dry three-pointer.
Jalen Brunson's tough hit gave the Knicks a comeback 4:07 before the end of the game to take a 99-96 lead. For a long time, the Knicks were stuck under the water and unable to breathe, and Brunson's outburst brought them back to life.
Madison Square Garden Arena was boiling, and Knicks celebrities such as John Starks and Cameron Anthony celebrated wildly off the court.
With 30 points, 5 rebounds, including 23 points in the second half, Brunson became the new king of basketball in Mecca under the watchful eye of Anthony, the former king of Madison Square Garden Arena.
The lucky one born with a golden key
Unlike the poor boys who have worked hard to get into basketball, Brunson is definitely the lucky man on the basketball court, he has a father who played in the NBA, at least food and clothing since he was a child, and can play with peace of mind.
Brunson was born into a sports family, his father played in the NBA for 9 years, his mother played volleyball, Brunson inherited his parents' sports genes and showed talent on the basketball court at an early age. Coupled with his father's careful and scientific training, Brunson grew up quickly and gradually became famous in the United States. In his sophomore year, Brunson led the team to a 19-game winning streak that brought the team to the IHSA Class 4A championship game against Jabari Parker's team. Despite the loss, the season was a successful one for Brunson, averaging 21.5 points per game.
The following season, Brunson averaged 26.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 2.9 steals per game, and Brunson had already attracted the attention of Kansas, Michigan, Villanova and other strong teams before graduating from high school. In the end, Brunson finalized Villanova among many options, promising to join Villanova after high school.
Brunson started so high, in large part because of the elder Brunson, the elder Brunson's own NBA career was not smooth, most of the time has been wandering, career average of only 3.2 points per game, is a true fringe player, he does not want his son to repeat the same mistakes, he hopes that his son can have a more successful career than him. So, from the beginning, the elder Brunson was training his son rigorously.
"My dad was really strict with me, and in high school even if we just won a game, he would let me continue to wear my jersey and go back to the gym immediately after the game and train there for a long time, and we would practice until midnight and at least 1.5-2 hours after the game," Brunson recalls, "He always tried to teach me a lesson, which is that nothing should be taken for granted, you have to play every game as if it were the last game, and it was a really hard time for me. But it made me a better player, a better person. ”
For his father, Brunson is grateful to him, he knows that he can be where he is today, his father is indispensable, he said: "I love my father, I love him to death, he is a good father, he wants me to be the best player." ”
A born winner
In the NCAA, catching up with a good admissions, a team's fortunes can be changed immediately, and in 2015 Villanova caught up, Brunson, Mikal Bridges, plus Josh Hart who was originally on the team, Villanova ushered in his own golden age.
In his freshman season, Brunson averaged 9.6 points and 2.5 assists per game, squeezed into the Villanova rotation, and contributed to the team's eventual championship victory. In the divisional finals against Kansas, it was Brunson who made crucial late-minute free throws that helped Villanova seal the win. The championship game played North Carolina, Brunson as the starter, Villanova beat North Carolina to win the championship, and Brunson won many supernova championships in his freshman year.
In 2016-17, Brunson was already the team's second-leading scorer with 14.7 points per game, but Villanova, who retained his core championship-winning team, fell in the second round.
With the departure of Hart and Jenkins, Brunson became the absolute core of the team, averaging 18.9 points and 4.6 assists per game in 2017-18, the highest points and assists on the team. It was a bumper year for Brunson, who was named Big East Player of the Year and Associated Press Player of the Year. That season, Brunson led the team to its second championship in three years.
respect
Brunson's NBA career has always been inseparable from the word "respect", and his journey has always been a cycle between not being respected and punching in the face.
In the summer of 2018, Brunson entered the NBA Draft with two NCAA champions, but because of height, age, athleticism and other factors, the best point guard in college basketball in the United States could not even enter the first round. In the end, the Lone Ranger selected Brunson with the 33rd overall pick.
Brunson was once put on the shelf by the Lone Ranger at the beginning of his career due to factors such as a shoulder injury, and was waived by Carlisle in the 2021 playoffs, and he has been improving and proving that his strength is far more than the No. 33 pick, but he has never earned the full respect of the Lone Ranger.
In the 2021 offseason, the Lone Ranger can renew Brunson's contract early, and the two sides can sign a four-year contract worth $55.5 million. The Lone Ranger did not offer the contract and did not negotiate with Brunson's brokerage team.
In January 2022, after Brunson played well in the first half of the 2021-22 season, the two sides could have renewed his contract early, but the Lone Rangers responded that they would talk after the 2022 trade deadline, and they were worried that renewing Brunson's contract before the trade deadline would affect their trade for other stars. The Lone Ranger's attitude infuriated the elder Brunson, and when the Lone Ranger's management came back to Brunson to negotiate a contract extension after the trade deadline, the elder Brunson rejected the Lone Ranger on behalf of his son.
With his outstanding performance in the 2022 playoffs, Brunson raised his price, and his market price rose to a starting point of $20 million, a reasonable height of $25 million.
In the 2022 offseason, the Knicks played a hand of off-hand while frantically operating to make space, and Brunson signed the Knicks for $104 million in 4 years. It is reported that the final offer given by the Lone Ranger is $106 million for 5 years. By this time, the average annual salary given by the Lone Ranger was still lower than that of the Knicks. Although the Knicks were later investigated by the league and fined a second-round pick for violating early contact with Brunson, looking at Brunson's performance this season, the Knicks lost a second-round pick and were still a big winner.
Later, Cuban denied that the Lone Ranger had the opportunity to renew Brunson at a low price, but was slapped in the face by Brunson, who personally confirmed: "Twice, I thought the offer was already on the table, once before the start of the season, once in December or January, but the Lone Ranger chose to go the other way, of course they have the right to do so, I can't blame them for making a business decision, it's up to them." ”
Cuban has said that letting Nash go was his biggest mistake. Perhaps, letting Brunson go was the second biggest mistake.
The new king of Madison
For the past 4 years, Brunson has been playing the second ball point next to Doncic, and the outside world knows him as a "deputy". But in Brunson's own cognition, why can't he play the protagonist?
In the regular season, Brunson averaged 24 points and 6.2 assists per game, and after playing time and ball possession, his shooting percentage remained at 49.1%, and his three-point shooting rate increased to 41.6%. Although it is Randle who entered the All-Star, no one can deny that Brunson is the core of the Knicks' offensive system, and his offensive high-level statistics have overwhelmed Randle to rank first on the team.
The key measure of a star's quality is singles ability, and in Brunson's singles round, the Knicks scored 1.17 points per round. Of the 103 players who have singled at least 50 times, Brunson ranks 14th in the league in singles efficiency.
In addition, Brunson can set up cover for Randle and Barrett and play reverse blocking, which allows the Knicks to create a lot of opportunities for misplaced offense. When Brunson covered, the Knicks scored 1.33 points per round, a statistic that ranked sixth out of 249 players who covered at least 50 times. This off-ball nature makes Brunson compatible with any teammate, a trait that many ball carriers don't have.
"How much do you miss Brunson?"
When the reporter tossed the question to Doncic, Doncic was silent for a long time and then confessed, "I miss it so much." ”
The Lone Rangers without Brunson didn't even make the playoffs this season, and the Knicks who got Brunson reached the Eastern Conference semifinals, Brunson averaged a record 25 points per game in the playoffs, and quickly regained his form after a brief slump in the last game, and did so with an ankle injury in the second quarter.
After the game, Anthony walked into the stadium to greet Brunson with a hug, a scene that also symbolized the handover of the scepter of the previous generation of leaders and the new era leaders at Madison Square Garden Arena.
Coincidentally, the Knicks player who scored at least 30 points in this arena last playoffs was none other than Anthony.