Catch every dazzling clip of Jalen Brunson from his NBA Cup MVP run as the Knicks capture the championship.
LAS VEGAS — He is a shade over six feet tall, lacks length and long arms, wouldn’t win a sprint against a fair amount of NBA guards and isn’t pushing iron around effortlessly in the weight room.
The eye test is lying, though, because Jalen Brunson is built … for big moments.
There’s a reason the Knicks regularly turn to him in times of truth, when they need to flip the momentum in their favor, when they crave a steady hand late in games or, hell, when they just need a bucket. Time and time again, Brunson answers calls better, and certainly more comforting, than an annoying automated voice system.
Was this really a revelation Tuesday and throughout the Emirates NBA Cup, or more like a confirmation?
Definitely the latter. Brunson was the steadiest of players and certainly the most impactful for the Knicks during their journey to the midseason championship. The 123-114 victory in the title game over the San Antonio Spurs and against their pesky guards was the Cup’s crowning achievement but, honestly, rather routine for Brunson.
If there are NBA guards better offensively than him, you can fit them all in a Honda Civic, with enough room to dribble.
He endured 41 grueling minutes while fending off the Spurs tag team of Stephon Castle, De’Aaron Fox and Dylan Harper, as fine a trio as you’ll find on one team. They each tried to bite a chunk of flesh and Brunson wasn’t having it.
“You see that?” asked Spike Lee, the most loyal of Knicks fans and who made the trip, and sure, it wasn’t hard to miss what Brunson did.
When Brunson was on the floor the Knicks were 18 points better than the Spurs. That explains everything, his value, his worth and his weight in the title game.
But what did Brunson do at the buzzer? He embraces three reserves — Tyler Kolek, Jordan Clarkson and Mitchell Robinson — and later cited them as the primary reason for the win. Brunson certainly had a point. Kolek helped tremendously with the ball-handling chores, Clarkson with the shooting (15 points) and Robinson grabbed 15 rebounds in 18 minutes. Given that the winning team of the Cup gets $500,000 per man, those reserves had more financial incentive than the well-paid starters.
Brunson did what a leader does by handing out those flowers.
But don’t get it twisted — there’s a reason Brunson was voted NBA Cup MVP, following LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Highlights From Jalen Brunson’s 25-point game in the Knicks’ NBA Cup Championship win over the Spurs.
HIs 25 points and eight assists against the Spurs was a continuation of sorts for a player who stayed at a consistently high level over several weeks, shining brighter than those colorful Cup courts.
In the Cup Quarterfinals, he chopped down the Raptors, making 13-for-19 shots, including six of nine from deep, good for 35 points. Then he went five points better in the Semis, giving Orlando a 40-piece, helping the Knicks to their first title game of any kind since 1999 (they lost to the Spurs).
The per-game points tally for Brunson in Cup play: 29, 33, 37, 35, 40, 25. And Brunson, a slightly-above average shooter from deep, was good for 46% on 3-pointers.
“I’m very excited,” he said. “It’s a goal of ours that we get to check off. It’s an important steppingstone for us. We can still learn from this game and get better, as well. I’m very thankful for the opportunity presented to ourselves.”
At some point, in this Knicks team’s biggest dreams, the next trophy they compete for will be handed out in June, not the dead of winter in the middle of the desert. These are desperate times for a city that hasn’t staged a blue-and-orange basketball parade down Broadway since 1973. That was just a year after Brunson was born — that’s Rick Brunson, Jalen’s father, a current Knicks assistant coach and former Knicks player.
Basically, so long ago, 52 years is an eternity.
By winning this Cup, the Knicks earned an additional stripe as a title contender. They’re currently closing in on the top spot in the Eastern Conference. They’re surging as the Christmas checkpoint approaches and among the hottest teams in the league.
The Knicks knock off the Spurs 124-113 to become the third NBA Cup champions.
Winning the Cup doesn’t guarantee a June championship; those are earned, those are harder. Those take a year off your life, and that’s if you’re lucky. The Lakers won the inaugural NBA Cup and came away empty in the postseason; same for the Bucks last season. Eventually, someone will break the string and grab the double championship. Why not the Knicks?
Mike Brown, their first-year coach, was strategically sensational against the Spurs with his usage of Kolek — keeping him on the floor with Brunson to offset the Spurs’ guards — and the bench. That’s why the Knicks made the coaching change last summer, to introduce a new philosophy and approach, and so far, Brown has not disappointed.
“First thing he did is he called me, and we went to dinner and talked for like two, three hours,” Brunson said. “Not really talking about anything basketball-wise, X’s and O’s or Knicks-wise; we were just talking. I really appreciated the time he spent coming down to see me. It was a great first impression. Since then, our relationship has grown. Our communication is great.”
Yet, what New York has most in its favor is a championship-like piece, and that’s Brunson.
His MVP contention and candidacy this season will only expand as a result of Tuesday’s win, and obviously the respect league-wide for him is swelling, too.
“On this stage, to go get it done while winning,” said Brown, “is what in my opinion an MVP is about.”
And that’s what Jalen Brunson is all about. After his three-plus years in the big city, the Knicks know what they have in him. They know he’s on the level of Knicks’ greats of the past. They know he’s special, brings talent and intangibles and one day might help bring a bigger prize.
One trophy for 2025-26 is secured.
One player can help with another, and fortunately for the Knicks, he’s already aboard.
“I think for me, I always focus on staying levelheaded through the positives, through the negatives,” Brunson said. “You can’t get too high, can’t get too low.
“This is great. We’re going to enjoy this. But once we leave tomorrow, we’re moving on.”
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Shaun Powell has covered the NBA since 1985. You can email him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.
