The Growing Mythology of Jalen Brunson

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With 2:54 left in the third quarter of Game 4 against the Pistons, Knicks fans everywhere drew a collective gasp. After getting tangled up around halfcourt with Pistons guard Dennis Schröder, Jalen Brunson was on the ground, struggling to get to his feet. In that moment, and the four-plus minutes of game time with Brunson in the locker room, disappointment loomed.

But in the fourth quarter, as he has done time after time as a Knick, Brunson came back onto the floor and willed his team back into a game that they had lost control of with 15 points on 7/11 shooting. It was yet another performance from the Captain that added to his overall mythology—a book being written before our eyes.

The Savior That Was Promised

For the better part of my life, the Knicks toiled in mediocrity and spurts of excellence. It was never sustained, never consistent. We often fantasize about the Ewing era because in his 15 years with the team, the Knicks made the playoffs 13 times and won 58% of its games. In the years since Ewing’s departure, the team has looked for the next player to usher in an era of winning.

It was supposed to be Stephon Marbury, but he clashed with coaches and players. It was then supposed to be Carmelo Anthony, but his tenure was riddled with dysfunction and poor roster construction. RJ Barrett was drafted as the next face of the franchise, but he never ascended to superstardom. For decades, the Knicks, who play in a market that covets point guard play, couldn’t find a point guard to lead them since Clyde Frazier’s prime and the brief tenures of Mark Jackson and Rod Strickland.

The acquisition of Brunson was supposed to correct the sins of the past, a viable point guard that could right the ship after the disastrous Kemba Walker signing. Most Knicks fans felt that Brunson was a good-but-not-great player in the moment. Analysts called it an overpay, citing Brunson’s size and lack of athleticism as a deterrent to signing him. What has happened since then is one of the greatest leaps from a player that we have seen in recent memory.

This beginning is crucial to the overall story of Brunson, who has been unheralded throughout his professional career before arriving in New York. He was drafted in the second round, an afterthought. In Dallas, he was a backup to Luka Doncic, where the Mavericks hesitated to offer him an extension worth $55M over four years. Everything about his story has been about defying preconceived notions. His arrival in New York and subsequent emergence as a star has been the fulfillment of a reality that Knicks fans have waited many years for.

The Ascent into Legend

Before Brunson’s arrival, the Knicks had only won one playoff series since 2001. He has helped to triple that number in his short time with the team. While many fans will remember certain regular season moments, it is in the playoffs where legends are truly manufactured.

All of the franchise greats have had their moments, from Clyde to Ewing to Willis to Starks. And in his five playoff series as a Knick, Brunson has saved his best for when the lights shine the brightest.

Through this Knicks playoff career, Brunson has averaged 30.7 points per game. When only accounting for his Knicks playoff stats, that is the third highest points per game mark in NBA history behind only Michael Jordan and Luka Doncic. His assists per game also rank highly as 25^th best in NBA history, telling us that Brunson is both scoring and playmaking at an elite level in the games that matter most.

He has had seven playoff games in New York where he has scored over 40 points and an additional nine where he has scored over 30, meaning that in half of his playoff games Brunson has scored at least 30 points. But beyond the numbers, it is the moments that have helped to define the mystique of his time as a Knick.

In his first season, we witnessed the true arrival of a star. He consistently scored over 20 points in every game against the Cavaliers and then showed himself as the only reliable option against Miami in the next round. The true magic, however, was born the following year.

Between the Philadelphia and Indiana series, he became the first player since Michael Jordan in 1993 to score more than 40 points in four consecutive playoff games. As the Knicks played without Julius Randle and the offense focused on Brunson alone, he took the burden and became an unstoppable force. What we have seen him do in clutch situations so far in this year’s playoffs is further elevating his legend, writing stories that Knicks fans will share for generations.

The icing on the cake might have been his exploits in the first round series against the Pistons. He scored over 30 points in all but one of the six games. His fourth quarter exploits will become something of legend — no moment more iconic than the shot that sealed the series in Game 6, where in an isolation situation against Ausar Thompson, Brunson shakes him with one of the best crossovers you’ll ever see and calmly hits a three pointer to send the Knicks into the second round for the third consecutive season.

As the team prepares for the Boston Celtics in round two, it is yet another level, another chapter to be added to his story. Once again, he is an underdog going against the defending champions. History has shown us that he will rise to the top in these moments. He lives for this, and we as Knicks fans having been on this ride with him the whole time.

With Brunson, there is a sense of appreciating the “good old days” while you’re living in them. Brunson is doing to other teams what Knicks fans are used to happening to them. The criticisms of his style of play is what all the great players have had to deal with. For once, that player plays for the Knicks, and that is something that should be celebrated.

Many years from now, we will all be telling stories about the time he took over a fourth quarter in Detroit, or when he went toe-to-toe with Joel Embiid and out-dueled him. In the context of this year’s Knicks team, it is important to remember these moments. This team has been frustrating relative to the expectations attached to them, which has led to moments of disappointment and longing for more. While all of that is valid, it should not take away from what Brunson has given us these last few years.

We are witnessing the development and maturation of a Knicks legend in real time, a player that we will deify years from now. His mythology and legend are only growing with every incredible performance and playoff win.

The story of Brunson has a very New-York-hustle and come-up feel to it, and he embodies so much of what makes the city great. He is the answer that many of us prayed for during the dark times of the Phil Jackson regime, the free agent signing that finally panned out. Sometimes we need to take a step back and appreciate what we are witnessing: an all-timer and future Knicks legend with full command of his powers.

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