SITTING AT THE press-conference top table after leading the New York Knicks to the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history, point guard Jalen Brunson addressed the media before the floor was opened for questions about the game.
The stroking of his forehead betrayed his effort to hide whatever form of anguish lay behind his sunglasses, and it soon became apparent that Brunson was choked up. “Real quick, before we get started”, he said, “my thoughts and prayers are with a friend of mine I got to meet and talk to last week: Jonathan from North Carolina, from the Make-a-Wish foundation and the Garden of Dreams foundation.
“He had a heart condition and it was just asked of me to just kind of take a video and reach out to him, but something in my mind told me to try and get him on FaceTime and get to chat with him. And I got the pleasure to do so. It was a quick call but it was well worth it.
“And I just want to say my thoughts and prayers are with him and his family. Just found out some news about him today, so may God rest his soul.”
Knicks star Jalen Brunson. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
One journalist offered Brunson his condolences before asking him about OG Anunoby’s miraculous game-winning intervention, the forward’s towering rebound of Brunson’s attempted three-pointer — with just over a second remaining in the game — yielding bedlam at Madison Square Garden and lifting the Knicks to within one victory of a first NBA title in 53 years.
Brunson was unable to answer for several seconds, apologising as he tried to fight off his tears. His mind was still on Jonathan from North Carolina.
His inherent decency and the manner with which he deals with people of all ages in the city are part of what makes Brunson ‘The King of New York’. He typically makes a point of giving nothing away to the media, often mulling questions over for a couple of seconds before providing a straight-bat answer consisting of only a few words.
Occasionally, though, he lifts the lid on what makes him a special athlete and, by extension, how this Knicks team has come to have such a profound impact on its home city.
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When asked if he experienced ‘doubt’ when the Knicks found themselves 29 points down to the Spurs in the third quarter of Game 4, Brunson replied, “You’re allowed to think about the worst possible scenario, but you gotta go out there and do something about it.”
The words of French pacifist Romain Rolland, later popularised by Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci in his Prison Notebooks, sprang to mind. ‘Pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will.’
Brunson allowed his mind to explore the worst-case outcome — an embarrassing defeat at the Garden that would have seen the Spurs level the series at 2-2 from 2-0 down — and finished with a game-high 36 points, catalysing the comeback of all comebacks.
'This train is not stopping.' Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
Brunson, who hung around the Knicks’ dressing room at the age of three when his father, Rick (currently assistant coach), was a bench player during their last Finals appearance in 1999, embodies everything that New Yorkers want to see in their team. He’s an underdog, he’s got a chip on his shoulder, and he flat-out refuses to accept defeat.
The Knicks were laughed at when they signed Brunson in 2022. He had fallen to the second round of the draft. He was considered too small a guard at six-foot-two. Many believed his feet were too slow. He openly takes that personally.
Astonishingly, in the last two years, the Knicks have a winning record in games in which they have trailed by 20 points. The Comeback Kings of New York.
Their city suitably loves them, not only Brunson but Josh Hart, a former college teammate with whom he shares a bromance in which both men invariably trade public insults and deny their friendship; New Jersey native Karl Anthony Towns, who bullied Spurs star Victor Wembanyama in Games 1 and 2 and whose openness about grief since the loss of his mother in 2020 has endeared him to many; the unassuming Englishman OG Anunoby, whose monstrous effort on both sides of the ball might make him the MVP of these Finals; Mikal Bridges, a college teammate of Brunson and Hart’s and another written-off signing whose value during these playoffs has been demonstrable; and Brooklyn man Jose Alvarado, the heart-on-sleeve Puerto Rican bench option who sounds like a New Yorker and demonstrably enjoys being a New Yorker.
OG Anunoby dunking over Victor Wembanyama in Game 3. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
Of course, the answer as to what really constitutes a ‘New Yorker’ has engendered debate for decades, if not centuries. One Knicks fan came as close as anybody to nailing it in a clip that circulated worldwide from the wild celebrations on the streets of Manhattan following the Knicks’ Game 1 victory in San Antonio.
“My mayor Muslim! My bagels Jewish! My Christian Dior! Knicks in four!” was the now-famous rallying cry from 23-year-old Knicks fan MD Hossain, his mention of Dior a tribute to a former ‘King of New York’, Brooklyn drill rapper Pop Smoke, who was murdered at the age of 20 six years ago.
Last week, another hip-hop star, ASAP Rocky, was asked by GQ Magazine how long he has supported the Knicks. Rocky replied, “Get the fuck outta here! I’m from New York, sweetheart. I ain’t no Knicks fan. I am a Knick.”
His message was coarse, and clearly sexist towards the female GQ reporter, but it actually carried with it some truth: accepted into the league shortly after World War II, the New York Knickerbockers were so named after a character written by the famous New Yorker Washington Irving a century and a half earlier. Considered a personification of the city, Irving’s ‘Father Knickerbocker’ took his name from the three-quarter-length pants worn by the Dutch settlers who arrived in New York in the 1600s, whose descendants would ultimately shape Manhattan. ‘Knickerbocker’ subsequently became a nickname for New Yorkers and so, yeah, in a sense, Harlem native Mr Rocky is a Knick — as is anyone who doesn’t support the Brooklyn Nets, essentially.
Knicks fans celebrate their historic Game 4 comeback against the Spurs at a watch party outside Central Park. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
But what this Knicks Finals run means to the city of New York can probably be best encapsulated by a man who later identified himself as Willis Matthewson. He was videoed by a curious Instagram user, Alina, burning sage on the streets of Manhattan in the days following the Spurs’ Game 3 victory at Madison Square Garden — the Knicks’ first defeat of any kind since April, which counted US president Donald Trump among its spectators.
It was only when Matthewson turned towards the Garden himself, the smoke wafting from some kind of incense stick, that Alina realised he was “cleansing the energy” at the venue ahead of Game 4. “It can only help,” he told her. “Just trying to restore the vibes.”
The Knicks head to San Antonio tonight (1:30am Irish time) for Game 5, up 3-1 in a best-of-seven. Victory will yield a first NBA title since 1973. Back home, the city holds its breath.
Asked on Friday if the gravity of the situation feels different now that he and his team are just one step from delivering the ultimate glory to a fanbase starved of success for over half a century, Jalen Brunson shook his head.
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The King of New York, the Comeback Kings, and a team that embodies NYC
SITTING AT THE press-conference top table after leading the New York Knicks to the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history, point guard Jalen Brunson addressed the media before the floor was opened for questions about the game.
The stroking of his forehead betrayed his effort to hide whatever form of anguish lay behind his sunglasses, and it soon became apparent that Brunson was choked up. “Real quick, before we get started”, he said, “my thoughts and prayers are with a friend of mine I got to meet and talk to last week: Jonathan from North Carolina, from the Make-a-Wish foundation and the Garden of Dreams foundation.
“He had a heart condition and it was just asked of me to just kind of take a video and reach out to him, but something in my mind told me to try and get him on FaceTime and get to chat with him. And I got the pleasure to do so. It was a quick call but it was well worth it.
“And I just want to say my thoughts and prayers are with him and his family. Just found out some news about him today, so may God rest his soul.”
One journalist offered Brunson his condolences before asking him about OG Anunoby’s miraculous game-winning intervention, the forward’s towering rebound of Brunson’s attempted three-pointer — with just over a second remaining in the game — yielding bedlam at Madison Square Garden and lifting the Knicks to within one victory of a first NBA title in 53 years.
Brunson was unable to answer for several seconds, apologising as he tried to fight off his tears. His mind was still on Jonathan from North Carolina.
His inherent decency and the manner with which he deals with people of all ages in the city are part of what makes Brunson ‘The King of New York’. He typically makes a point of giving nothing away to the media, often mulling questions over for a couple of seconds before providing a straight-bat answer consisting of only a few words.
Occasionally, though, he lifts the lid on what makes him a special athlete and, by extension, how this Knicks team has come to have such a profound impact on its home city.
When asked if he experienced ‘doubt’ when the Knicks found themselves 29 points down to the Spurs in the third quarter of Game 4, Brunson replied, “You’re allowed to think about the worst possible scenario, but you gotta go out there and do something about it.”
The words of French pacifist Romain Rolland, later popularised by Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci in his Prison Notebooks, sprang to mind. ‘Pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will.’
Brunson allowed his mind to explore the worst-case outcome — an embarrassing defeat at the Garden that would have seen the Spurs level the series at 2-2 from 2-0 down — and finished with a game-high 36 points, catalysing the comeback of all comebacks.
Brunson, who hung around the Knicks’ dressing room at the age of three when his father, Rick (currently assistant coach), was a bench player during their last Finals appearance in 1999, embodies everything that New Yorkers want to see in their team. He’s an underdog, he’s got a chip on his shoulder, and he flat-out refuses to accept defeat.
The Knicks were laughed at when they signed Brunson in 2022. He had fallen to the second round of the draft. He was considered too small a guard at six-foot-two. Many believed his feet were too slow. He openly takes that personally.
Astonishingly, in the last two years, the Knicks have a winning record in games in which they have trailed by 20 points. The Comeback Kings of New York.
Their city suitably loves them, not only Brunson but Josh Hart, a former college teammate with whom he shares a bromance in which both men invariably trade public insults and deny their friendship; New Jersey native Karl Anthony Towns, who bullied Spurs star Victor Wembanyama in Games 1 and 2 and whose openness about grief since the loss of his mother in 2020 has endeared him to many; the unassuming Englishman OG Anunoby, whose monstrous effort on both sides of the ball might make him the MVP of these Finals; Mikal Bridges, a college teammate of Brunson and Hart’s and another written-off signing whose value during these playoffs has been demonstrable; and Brooklyn man Jose Alvarado, the heart-on-sleeve Puerto Rican bench option who sounds like a New Yorker and demonstrably enjoys being a New Yorker.
Of course, the answer as to what really constitutes a ‘New Yorker’ has engendered debate for decades, if not centuries. One Knicks fan came as close as anybody to nailing it in a clip that circulated worldwide from the wild celebrations on the streets of Manhattan following the Knicks’ Game 1 victory in San Antonio.
“My mayor Muslim! My bagels Jewish! My Christian Dior! Knicks in four!” was the now-famous rallying cry from 23-year-old Knicks fan MD Hossain, his mention of Dior a tribute to a former ‘King of New York’, Brooklyn drill rapper Pop Smoke, who was murdered at the age of 20 six years ago.
Last week, another hip-hop star, ASAP Rocky, was asked by GQ Magazine how long he has supported the Knicks. Rocky replied, “Get the fuck outta here! I’m from New York, sweetheart. I ain’t no Knicks fan. I am a Knick.”
His message was coarse, and clearly sexist towards the female GQ reporter, but it actually carried with it some truth: accepted into the league shortly after World War II, the New York Knickerbockers were so named after a character written by the famous New Yorker Washington Irving a century and a half earlier. Considered a personification of the city, Irving’s ‘Father Knickerbocker’ took his name from the three-quarter-length pants worn by the Dutch settlers who arrived in New York in the 1600s, whose descendants would ultimately shape Manhattan. ‘Knickerbocker’ subsequently became a nickname for New Yorkers and so, yeah, in a sense, Harlem native Mr Rocky is a Knick — as is anyone who doesn’t support the Brooklyn Nets, essentially.
But what this Knicks Finals run means to the city of New York can probably be best encapsulated by a man who later identified himself as Willis Matthewson. He was videoed by a curious Instagram user, Alina, burning sage on the streets of Manhattan in the days following the Spurs’ Game 3 victory at Madison Square Garden — the Knicks’ first defeat of any kind since April, which counted US president Donald Trump among its spectators.
It was only when Matthewson turned towards the Garden himself, the smoke wafting from some kind of incense stick, that Alina realised he was “cleansing the energy” at the venue ahead of Game 4. “It can only help,” he told her. “Just trying to restore the vibes.”
The Knicks head to San Antonio tonight (1:30am Irish time) for Game 5, up 3-1 in a best-of-seven. Victory will yield a first NBA title since 1973. Back home, the city holds its breath.
Asked on Friday if the gravity of the situation feels different now that he and his team are just one step from delivering the ultimate glory to a fanbase starved of success for over half a century, Jalen Brunson shook his head.
“Zero-zero.”
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