Category: Basketball

The Knicks’ path to the NBA title involved contributions from everyone on the roster — even if they did not play a single postseason minute.

Head coach Mike Brown revealed that forward Dillon Jones, who appeared in just seven regular season games for the Knicks, played a key role in the team’s playoff preparation.

“Throughout the course of this run, I got help with the messaging from different people,” Brown said to Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart during a new episode of the “Roommates Show” released on Tuesday.

“I’m gonna tell you guys, you may know this or may not, Dillon [Jones] was fabulous.”

Most fans didn’t even know Jones was part of the organization until an ill-conceived banner outside City Hall that bore his name and Patrick Ewing’s sacred No. 33, sparking some unexpected parade-day outrage.

The 24-year-old played a total of 39 minutes for New York, but it was his experience before joining the Knicks that proved invaluable.

As a rookie, the 26th overall pick spent the 2024-25 campaign with the Thunder, who defeated the Pacers in seven games to win the NBA Finals.

The Weber State product appeared in 54 regular season games and saw some sporadic action in the postseason as Oklahoma City sought to avenge a second-round postseason exit a year prior.

“I spoke to Dillon often during this playoff run because he had just gone through it with Oklahoma City,” Brown added. “I said, ‘Hey, when you guys were in this position, what was [head coach] Mark [Daigneault] saying? What was [general manager] Sam Presit saying? What were you guys saying to each other? What do you think here?”

In his first season as Knicks head coach, Brown preached collaboration and communication, a philosophy that led to 13 straight postseason wins and the organization’s first title in 53 years.

One of Jones’ most prudent suggestions, according to Brown, was to have the Knicks relive their own postseason disappointment shortcomings.

Before the Knicks opened the Eastern Conference finals against the Cavaliers, Brown had the team’s video department produce a short film focusing on players’ reactions a year prior, when New York fell in six games to the Pacers.

“Mike Brown said that he showed the film and asked the guys, ‘How did you feel in that moment,” ESPN’s Lisa Salters said during a Game 4 report. “Just to remind them of what it felt like to come up short.”

Brown revealed that he was not the mastermind of that motivation tactic.

“That was [Jones’] idea,” Brown said. “He wanted to show still shots of you because [OKC] did something similar to that because they had lost the year before. We took it to another level, we put together a video just to remind everybody that this is what it felt like.”

As the Knicks enter free agency, the club has already agreed to deals to bring back key contributors Landry Shamet and Mohamed Diawara.

A reunion with Mitchell Robinson appears unlikely as the Knicks look to stay below the second apron.

It’s unclear what type of role, if any, Jones would have next season, but the Knicks could do worse than a player with two NBA championships in his first two seasons.

The Lakers’ top priority this summer is finding a center of the future, so it’s no surprise their top target this summer is a big man.

The restricted free agent market is always tricky to navigate, but the two best centers available this summer fall both fall in that category. While Jalen Duren is feuding with the Pistons — and taking a meeting with the Lakers, to be fair — Kessler is also feuding with the Jazz and LA is ready to take advantage.

On Tuesday evening, longtime NBA reporter Marc Stein provided an update on the Lakers’ free agency. On top of reporting of likely deals for Sandro Mamukelashvili and Quentin Grimes, he also noted that Kessler will be the team’s top free agent target this summer.

Kessler held meetings with teams on Tuesday and, while none of the teams were reported, the assumption is the Lakers were among them. The Jazz and Kessler are quite far apart on their next contract, leading to the Lakers believing they can swoop in on a deal.

Unlike Detroit, the Jazz have not signaled a willingness to match any offer made to Kessler. They already have a host of big men in their front court, including Jaren Jackson Jr., Lauri Markkanen and Jusuf Nurkic.

Chasing a player in restricted free agency is a gamble and the Lakers are putting a lot of chips in that basket. But if it works, it could be a huge win for the purple and gold.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.

Take a breath, people. This article is a momentary bubble of safety from the ongoing Walker Kessler free agency debacle. I will not be adding my fingerprints to the growing collection of my peers’ on the big red illuminating “PANIC” button. I don’t need that kind of anxiety in my life, so I opt to write about Utah’s fertile garden of blossoming youth.

Let’s instead emphasize what is good and happy in the Salt Lake Valley, and that is the second overall pick, Darryn Peterson.

In his first days in the Beehive State, Peterson is quickly familiarizing himself with his teammates, coaches, and the systems that Will Hardy has installed.

“I think the quickest thing is how quick he’s learning,” Third-year Jazzman Cody Williams shared during a media availability. “Even from yesterday to today, you can see he’s a lot more comfortable in the offense, making his reads and getting to his spots. He has a high IQ.”

The (big air quotes here) “veterans” will join Peterson on Utah’s Summer League team this season, and clearly hold plenty of sage wisdom and vital advice for a youngster still finding his footing on a new stage.

Williams and Bailey have survived the rookie experience, and continue to find what they do well and how they can contribute to winning in this exciting new era of Utah Jazz basketball.

On top of ball-handling and court vision, I’d love to see Cody Williams absorb some of the nutrients radiating from Darryn Peterson’s celestial jump shot. This clip of Utah’s rookie putting up a shot is so satisfying it melted me into a heap on my office chair.

One uninterrupted motion, smooth like Carlos Santana, and delicately grazing the net on its way through the cylinder, this is the type of tape you’ll see from a million players of varying skill levels, but not to this degree. This is the type of consistency of a generational shooter — the Utah Jazz somehow came away with this guy without the number-one pick.

Williams likewise arrived in Utah without the benefit of the number-one overall pick, but you get my point.

Disturbing content warning here, but Cody has only eclipsed three-point shooting clips of 25.9% as a rookie and 21.4% as a sophomore. These are abysmal metrics for a player who shot 40% at Colorado (on an admittedly limited sample size). He’ll need to find the range for at least 30% at his position, or his role on the team will be extremely situational. I can think of another wing who prided himself on how well he could see the floor, and that player is no longer in the NBA despite being the number-one pick in 2016.

This image is an omen, Cody; give heed, for heaven’s sake.

Williams and Bailey have experience on their sides and should absolutely feel comfortable in showing DP the ropes in his first days with the team. But make no mistake, Peterson will be the best player on the court from the first minute of Summer League. There’s a lot he’ll need to figure out, but it won’t be long before he’s teaching his elders.

The Brooklyn Nets first free agent signing of the 2026 off-season is Keon Ellis, a 26-year-old 6’4″ 3-and-D shooting guard. Ellis, who played last season for the Sacramento Kings and Cleveland Cavaliers, will be paid $18 million over the next two seasons under the proposed deal.

Shams Charania was first with the news…

Shams also noted that the contract has an odd “mutual option” …

Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic explained the option this way…

Ellis, a product of Alabama, is going into his fifth season. After going undrafted in the 2022 NBA draft, Ellis signed a two-way contract with the Sacramento Kings in July 2022 and established his reputation as tough defender and solid shooter. At the trade deadline, Ellis was traded to the Cavaliers where he finished out his three year, $5.1 million vets’ minimum deal.

For the season, in 72 games, 11 starts, Ellis averaged 6.7 points, 1.0 assists and 1.2 steals in 20.5 minutes, with 44/36/73 shooting splits. For his career, Ellis has shot 40.7% from deep. But his big attraction to the Nets is on the other side of the court, being a solid point-of-attack defender in Jordi Fernandez’s schemes. His numbers tell the story…

Indeed, Fernandez was the associate head coach of the Kings when Ellis played in Sacramento between 2022 and 2024.

There will presumably be a logjam at guard, with Terance Mann, second year players Egor Demin, Nolan Traore, Drake Powell and Ben Saraf as well as this year’s lottery pick, Mikel Brown Jr. Other than Mann and to a lesser degree Powell, however, none are known for the defense.

Yossi Gozlan quickly turned out one of his patented updates on how the signing will effect the Nets salary cap.

Ellis later reported that the 3-and-D guards’ value has been difficult to guage, noting that Ellis will make considerably more than Jordan Goodwin, 27, who is at $6.3 million, and Jose Alvarado, 28, with a brand new $4.9 million deal, but none of them is as good a 3-point shooter as Ellis.

Bottom line: Sean Marks & co. still have more than $30 million available.

• Nets bolstering backcourt with two-year, $18 million Keon Ellis contract – Brian Lewis – New York Post
• Nets agree to two-year deal with guard Keon Ellis: report ($) – C.J. Holmes – New York Daily News
• Nets bringing in Keon Ellis on $18 million contract – Erik Slater – Clutch Points

The Nets and free agent guard Keon Ellis have agreed to a two-year, $18 million guaranteed deal, reports ESPN's Shams Charania.

The signing came shortly after the NBA free agency negotiating window opened and gives Brooklyn some depth at the guard position.

Ellis, 26, has played four seasons in the league and was traded from the Sacramento Kings to the Cleveland Cavaliers during last season's trade deadline. With the Cavs, Ellis averaged 8.3 points in 29 games.

For his career, the University of Alabama product who went undrafted in the 2022 NBA Draft has averaged 6.6 points, 2.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.2 steals per game while playing in 225 games (60 starts).

Luke Kennard won’t return to the Lakers for the 2026-27 season. 

The free agent guard is leaving the Lakers for the Suns in free agency after just half a season with the Lakers.

Kennard, who was an unrestricted free agent, agreed to a two-year, $13 million deal that was first reported by ESPN.

One of the league’s best shooters since entering the league out of Duke in 2017, Kennard led the league in 3-point shooting percentage (47.8%) for the third time in his career. 

After the Lakers acquired Kennard from the Hawks for Gabe Vincent and a 2032 second-round pick, Kennard averaged 9 points (44.8% shooting on 3-pointers), 2.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 32 regular season games.

The highlight of his regular season with the Lakers was, after a brief shooting slump, knocking down the game-winning 3-pointer against the Magic on March 21 to give the Lakers their season-best ninth-straight win. 

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Kennard’s production ticked up when star guards Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves suffered regular season-ending injuries in early April.

He averaged 14.5 points, 7.8 assists, 5.3 rebounds and 2.3 steals over the Lakers’ next four games as a primary ball handler.

And in the playoffs, he continued to step up, leading the Lakers with a team-best 21 points in their Game 1 victory over the Rockets in the first round, scoring 23 points in their Game 2 win and recording 14 points and 6 assists in the Game 3 victory. 

Kennard averaged 12.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3 assists in six-game opening round series victory over the Rockets, and 11.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists in the Lakers’ playoff run that ended with a second-round sweep to the Thunder.

The Washington Wizards are NOT interested in trading center Anthony Davis, according Marc Spears of Yahoo Sports.

There have been rumblings that the Wizards could trade him to the Golden State Warriors. But apparently, this isn’t the case now.

Keep in mind that things can change real quick during this time of the year in the NBA. But if some of the top NBA insiders say that the Wizards aren’t trading a top star, it’s more likely that that is the case.

Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

With green guards and precious little defense, the Nets needed to add a veteran in the backcourt and pressure at the point of attack. 

They’re hoping Keon Ellis can bring both — and on a team-friendly deal. 

The Nets and Ellis agreed to a two-year, $18 million contract Tuesday on the first night of free agency. It was first reported by ESPN and confirmed by The Post. 

The deal includes a full mutual option. It fully guarantees Ellis his $18 million, while still letting both sides negotiate a new deal next summer. Either can opt in. 

The Nets would still have nearly $35 million in salary cap space left, per Third Apron cap guru Yossi Gozlan, if they take Ellis and Josh Minott into cap space and Day’Ron Sharpe into the room mid-level exception. 

The Nets spent first-round picks on guards Egor Demin, Nolan Traore and Ben Saraf last season, and Mikel Brown Jr. last week. None are expected to be defensive stalwarts, while wing Drake Powell has yet to grow into that role. 

Point-of-attack defenders who can actually shoot — prototypical 3-and-D types — are pricey in the NBA, but Ellis may provide some of that archetype. 

The 26-year-old Ellis played for Cleveland after being traded midseason from Sacramento. Nets head coach Jordi Fernández was a Kings assistant for two years while Ellis was there, and now they’ll have a reunion in Brooklyn. 

Ellis went undrafted and has never earned more than the veteran’s minimum. But he’s a career 40.7 percent shooter from 3-point range and hit 35.5 percent last season for the Cavaliers en route to averaging 8.3 points. 

But after averaging 24 minutes in the regular season and notching a plus-4.5 net rating, he struggled in the postseason. He averaged just seven minutes and recorded a minus-15.9 Net Rating in 12 appearances. 

Still, playoff struggles are a luxury for the rebuilding Nets, a long way from those sorts of worries. Considering how defensively challenged they are — and how young their backcourt is — it’s easy to see Ellis earning a significant rotation role. 

Ellis was fifth in the NBA in steals per 100 possessions in 2024-25 and 15th this past season, when he ranked in the 93rd percentile in steals. 

The Nets still have plenty of cap space and even more needs. 

They’re unlikely to trade for Boston’s Jaylen Brown, league sources said. 

Despite the Nets being linked with the Celtics All-Star, The Post reported Monday that they weren’t likely to deal for him, a league source saying, “I wouldn’t put much stock in it.” The Stein Line confirmed the same Tuesday. But trading away Nic Claxton has left a hole at center and made Day’Ron Sharpe the nominal starter. 

Although the Nets have been linked with Jalen Duren and Walker Kessler, both are restricted free agents and seem rich for the Nets’ blood. 

So where could Brooklyn look? Across the East River, with The Post reporting the Knicks are unlikely to keep Mitchell Robinson and the Nets have interest. 

Robinson leads the NBA in offensive rebounds per 36 minutes and per 100 possessions; Sharpe is fifth in both. The Nets re-signed Sharpe to a two-year, $20 million deal, a team-friendly contract that looks even cheaper weighed against Jock Landale’s one-year, $14 million pact. But prying Robinson away from the Knicks would give the Nets the best rebounding 1-2 punch they’ve ever had. 

Robinson is widely expected to command an annual salary starting at $15 million and possibly as high as $20 million. 

Two other options are more offensively oriented, in Orlando’s Moritz Wagner and Toronto’s Sandro Mamukelashvili. But the Lakers are not only meeting with Duren but reportedly comfortable offering Mamukelashvili $10 million annually, per SNY. The latter won’t protect the rim, but he’ll pass the ball and space the floor, shooting 38.9 percent from deep this past season. 

Another target is Wagner, 29, who would stretch the floor and bring toughness. He averaged just 6.9 points and 3.2 rebounds in 11.9 minutes last season, seeing his playing time slashed in Orlando. He could see it rise in Brooklyn.

While there has been little movement across the entirety of free agency on Tuesday, let alone the Lakers, it looks like the team has been moving in the background.

Two players who have been linked to the Lakers, Sandro Mamukelashvili and Quentin Grimes, look likely to have deals with LA, according to multiple reports. Longtime NBA reporter Marc Stein posted on Twitter that the belief around the league is that the pair will agree to contracts with the Lakers.

Just before that, his co-worker, Jake Fischer, reported that the league is under the impression that both deals are done and the pair will become Lakers.

The likeliest route for them to secure the deals is that one of them is signed with the Room Exception at roughly $9 million this season and the other is signed with cap space at around $10 million. That would leave the team with enough cap space to go after Walker Kessler as well.

With Luka Kennard departing to the Suns, the Lakers need a guard off the bench and Grimes fills that need. As for Mamu, it’s unclear if he’d be a replacement for Rui Hachimura or simply another piece on the roster. If it’s the latter, it’s a good signing. If it’s the former, then it’s a tougher sell.

For now, it’s not the time to jump to conclusions until all the work is done. In a vacuum, both deals are fair value. But seeing them in the greater context of the offseason will be key.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.

The Washington Wizards are in East Group C for next season’s NBA Cup, the NBA announced Tuesday.

They’ll play the following opponents during group play:

@ Atlanta Hawks
@ Chicago Bulls
vs. Boston Celtics
vs. Charlotte Hornets

Washington is 1-11 across the first three seasons of the NBA Cup. Their lone win came last November in a 132-113 home victory over the Hawks.

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Keon Ellis, who they acquired this past season, has reportedly signed with the Brooklyn Nets on a guaranteed two-year, $18 million deal, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.

The Cavs traded for Ellis and point guard Dennis Schroder from the Sacramento Kings for De’Andre Hunter, a move that was widely seen as a win for Cleveland. The 26-year-old Ellis brought a level of defensive intensity and energy that was severely lacking on the Cavs at the time, but he fell out of the rotation in the playoffs.

In 29 games with the Cavs, Ellis averaged 8.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game on 49.1% shooting from the floor. That shooting percentage is the best of Ellis’ career, though his 35.5% three-point shooting figure was the lowest of any other season.

While this move may look puzzling, the Cavs have a number of free agency fires burning that they are working to figure out. The pending departure of Dean Wade was likely higher on the to-do list than re-signing Ellis, which allowed the former University of Alabama guard to seek out a fresh opportunity.

The rebuilding Nets can offer much more playing time, and the reported contract Ellis signed reflects that. The second year has a mutual option, while maintaining the $18 million guarantee. It is unconventional, but it allows the Nets to re-sign Ellis or move on and open a roster spot. The Cavs are in championship-or-bust mode, and it may not have been as likely that Ellis would see such consistent playing time as he would see on a rebuilding squad.

The Lakers are set to lose one of the best shooters on their roster and in the NBA.

Luke Kennard came to LA at the deadline and immediately provided elite shooting and scoring off the bench. But as an unrestricted free agent this offseason, he is reportedly leaving the Lakers and joining the Suns, as first reported by Shams Charania of ESPN.

Entering the offseason, Kennard re-signing with the Lakers seemed very possible. He spoke fondly about the Lakers during his exit interview, calling the franchise special. From the team’s side, it was reported that the Lakers were interested in retaining Kennard.

The Lakers losing Kennard is a massive blow as he was a very productive player. Also, with LeBron James out of LA, the roster is suddenly missing multiple players who were a part of it last year. With Kennard making so little, this seems like a deal the Lakers could’ve matched. However, that is not the case, and Kennard will continue his career in Phoenix.

During the regular season, Kennard was a laser for the Lakers. He converted on 53.3% of his attempts and made 47.8% of his shots from deep, making him the league leader in 3-point percentage.

During the playoffs, Kennard elevated his game. In Game 1 against the Rockets, he had a great performance, scoring 27 points in LA’s surprising win.

Kennard remained an effective player throughout the playoffs. He averaged 11.5 points, which was higher than his regular-season average of nine points with the Lakers. His shooting from beyond the arc also remained high, making 47.4% of his threes.

Now that Kennard is gone, the Lakers will have to find another player they can rely on for outside shooting to be an offensive boost for the team. Considering how slim the free agency market is, that will be a difficult thing to accomplish.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.

The Phoenix Suns entered free agency with one open roster spot and one glaring need, adding shooting to a team that had just traded away two of its best perimeter threats. With Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neale headed to Charlotte, Phoenix needed to replace some of the spacing and bench scoring it lost in that deal while restoring some balance to the roster.

They’ve now done exactly that. The Suns are signing veteran sharpshooter Luke Kennard to a two-year, $13 million contract. The second year is a player option.

Kennard, who is 30 years old, essentially replaces a very similar player the Suns just sent out. Grayson Allen and Luke Kennard were teammates at Duke, although Allen stayed for all four seasons while Kennard declared for the 2017 NBA Draft after his sophomore year. He was ultimately selected 12th overall by the Detroit Pistons. Now he arrives in Phoenix to fill the role vacated by Allen.

While Kennard doesn’t possess the same level of physicality or the ability to get to the rim consistently, he is the better three-point shooter. Over a nine-year NBA career that has spanned five different teams, Kennard has shot 44.2% from beyond the arc. He’s led the NBA in three-point percentage three different times, with his best season coming in 2022-23, when he split time between the Clippers and Grizzlies and shot an absurd 49.4% from three on 4.6 attempts per game. He is a one-dimensional player. He’s a pure shooter.

During the Lakers’ 10-game postseason run this past spring, Kennard averaged 11.5 points while shooting 47.4% from beyond the arc. He’s not going to wow you defensively or protect the rim, and he’s not an exceptional playmaker. His job is simple. Come off the bench and shoot. That’s exactly what the Suns are asking him to do.

What this does to the Suns’ cap sheet is push them back over the first apron, with their projected payroll now sitting at approximately $214.9 million. It also completes the standard roster, as Phoenix has now filled all 15 roster spots heading into next season. The only remaining opening is one two-way contract. That spot could ultimately go to Sam Hoiberg or Corey Camper Jr., both of whom the Suns have already signed to Exhibit 10 contracts.

But at this point, the roster is complete. From a contractual standpoint, they’ve put themselves in a good position. The roster now contains plenty of mid-tier, tradable contracts, giving the organization flexibility as it moves forward. In that regard, they’ve operated the right way. Still, you never know. A transaction could be lurking in the shadows.

The depth chart feels balanced, even if there are still legitimate questions about the team’s defensive viability, where the shot volume will ultimately come from, and what the Phoenix Suns will actually look like during the 2026-27 season.

Now comes the fun part. For the rest of the summer, we’ll do what we always do. We’ll theorize, speculate, and try to figure out what this team can become once the games finally begin.

Could Nic Claxton’s absence be Danny Wolf’s opportunity?

With the Nets trading away their starting center, Wolf will have a clearer pathway to playing more minutes at the five this upcoming season.

“Obviously, it sucks to see Clax go,” Wolf said Tuesday as the Nets started practice for Summer League. “He was one of the leaders of our locker room, a great voice in our locker room, and he epitomized what it meant to be a Brooklyn Net. We’re sad, we’re gonna miss him.

“In terms of my role and how that’ll change, I’ll develop some coaches, do what they ask of me, and just keep getting better. Whatever role I’m thrown into, I can do it to the best of my abilities.”

The Nets swapped Claxton and a second-round pick for power forward Julius Randle and a first-round selection that became Joshua Jefferson. Though Randle, Jefferson and holdover Noah Clowney will make the competition tougher at the four spot, the departure of Claxton could let Wolf see more minutes at the five, backing up new presumptive starter Day’Ron Sharpe.

In preparation, Wolf — who was shut down late in his rookie campaign with an ankle injury — has spent the early part of the offseason trying to get stronger, to battle veteran centers on the boards.

“Starting with my body getting stronger or getting quicker, getting my ankle right. And just even playing now, I’ve never felt more in control or on balance or stronger,” Wolf said. “And then with that, I’d say my finishing and my 3-point consistency. And I’m shooting the best I’ve shot it, and I feel like I’m finishing the best I’ve finished. So, just gotta keep at it. But I know I’m nowhere near where I want to be.”

The proof will be in the pudding as far as any shooting improvements.

But Wolf weighed in at 260 pounds, up almost 10 pounds from a year ago, and he’s banking on strength and experience helping his subpar finishing at the rim.

“You learn something new every day when you work here in the NBA,” Wolf said. “Obviously you have Clax, who’s [spent] six or seven years in the league, and then Day Day is going into his sixth year, you learn from those guys every day.

“When I was in the G-League, I played center at times. Then there were times in the NBA when I was playing center too when those guys were out, and I felt comfortable in the position. I think the added strength is gonna be the biggest thing I do for five minutes at the five. But I’m gonna do whatever the coaches ask me to and just compete.”

As a rookie, Wolf played everywhere along the frontcourt. Coach Jordi Fernández even used him as a point forward and backup playmaker when the need arose.

“For sure. I played one through five this year,” said Wolf. “There were games where Jordi, I went in the game being point guard. And there would be games where I went in as a five. And I feel comfortable all across the floor. The biggest thing for me is defense.”

“I felt comfortable switching one through four last year. I thought I did it at a somewhat high level, and the next thing for me is just having that strength, that confidence to guard fives. And if that comes along, then who knows?”

June 30.

It marks the start of free agency, an event that once meant a lot more in the NBA world.

Nowadays, most star players are moved via trade. The way the NBA works, players are incentivized to sign extensions to create maximum contract value, so even if they aren’t willing to commit for the five years they sign for, they know they’ll make an ungodly amount of money.

The last real mega year for free agency was 2019, which also makes this the unfortunate seventh anniversary of the biggest nightmare in Knicks history.

A month and a half after losing out on the Zion Williamson sweepstakes in the 2019 draft lottery, Knicks fans had their hearts ripped out when both Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving spurned them for the crosstown rival Brooklyn Nets.

It was the definitive low point in the history of this historic franchise. Three years later, to the day, everything changed at 9:33 pm.

It wasn’t some franchise-altering move. With the context at the time, it was just supposed to be a move to stabilize a long-problematic point guard position. The Knicks gave a nine-figure contract to a small, former second-round pick with limited starting experience. It was a gamble, even if the team’s cap sheet did not have a player making a prohibitive amount.

The pundits called it an overpay. They said he was just alright, but not worth his contract. He himself said on his first media day that he just wanted to help contribute to winning, that he was not a savior of any sort.

Well, in proving himself wrong, he proved every basketball fan in the world wrong.

Jalen Brunson was born on August 31, 1996, in New Brunswick, New Jersey. His mother, Sandra, was a Division I volleyball player at Temple, while his father, Rick, was an NBA journeyman. When Jalen was born, Rick was starting his pro career with the Adelaide 36ers in Australia, meaning that he didn’t meet his son for a while. Leon Rose, in fact, held him before his own father.

Growing up, the Brunsons would be on the road a lot. Rick would play in several different countries and a handful of NBA teams by the time his career wrapped up 10 years later. He spent the 1998-99 season with the Knicks, where Jalen met guys like Patrick Ewing, Latrell Sprewell, Allan Houston, and Tom Thibodeau. While we haven’t been regaled with his experiences in other locker rooms as a kid, his time in New York seems to have shaped him.

Rick would return to New York for 15 games at the end of the 2000-01 season, but other than that, the Knicks were just a small stop on his tiring NBA career. By the time the 2006-07 season rolled around, he had an opportunity to play with his hometown Philadelphia 76ers. With the Brunsons residing in South Jersey, for the first time, they’d have a real opportunity to be together all season.

And then, Rick was cut. Jalen was 10 years old, and he’s stated in interviews since that he remembers holding back tears, hearing his father was hanging it up. At that point, one Brunson’s NBA journey was over.

The other’s was just beginning.

“I don’t want you to live how I lived,” Rick told Jalen that night, according to a 2015 Sports Illustrated feature that I highly recommend reading for more on Jalen’s upbringing. “If you really want to be a ballplayer, listen to what I tell you, and you will take a different route.”

From there, Jalen would train relentlessly. His father would work him ragged, berate him at every turn, bully him into being a better version of himself. He made the righty Jalen play left-handed; he disciplined every last bit of self-righteousness, ego, and selfishness out of his son.

Even as someone with plenty of athletic genes from his parents, Jalen needed thousands upon thousands of hours of work to get to this point. He couldn’t just coast onto Big Boards because of his traits. The Brunsons moved from South Jersey to Chicago in 2010, when Rick got the job as an assistant coach on Thibodeau’s staff. This is where his son’s basketball journey really began.

At Stevenson High School, he was a star by the time he was a sophomore. He dropped 57 points in a game as a junior. In his senior year in 2014-15, he was the best player in all of Illinois, leading Stevenson to a Class 4A state championship. Despite his small stature, his downright dominant play led to him being one of the highest ranked recruits in the nation.

Ranked as a five-star by 247Sports as the No. 31 overall prospect in the nation, Brunson was still behind the likes of Malik Newman, Isaiah Briscoe, Derryck Thornton, Juwan Evans, and Tyler Dorsey as a point guard. The only players in front of him in general that ever did anything in the NBA were Ben Simmons, Brandon Ingram, Jaylen Brown, and Jamal Murray. Even Iso Zo was in front of him!

It’s hard to call a five-star recruit with an NBA father doubted, but he was clearly seen as beneath all these guys. Just more fuel to the fire, as he picked Villanova over Illinois for his next step in college basketball.

Right off the bat, Jay Wright did something that he rarely ever does. He started the true freshman right away, only bringing him off the bench one time against an undefeated Xavier team to start Big East play in December. He made 39 starts as a freshman, posting modest numbers and being named to the Big East All-Freshman Team. His impact would be limited in the big games, as he only played around 23 minutes a night during the NCAA Tournament, but he emerged as a national champion.

As a sophomore, his responsibilities increased. He averaged 14.7 points and 4.1 assists as the second leading scorer on one of the best teams in the nation, being named First-Team All-Big East.

He was a steady force for the Wildcats all season long, but faltered in the NCAA Tournament, being held down with the rest of his team in an embarrassing second-round exit to Wisconsin. Repeating is hard, but with Brunson’s stock not super high, he decided to return as a junior.

His junior season was the stuff of legend. Named a Preseason All-American, he came out firing for a Nova team that started 13-0. 25 against Tennessee, four Big East games with at least 27 points, and a 31-point masterpiece against Providence in the Big East Championship Game.

Soon named the Naismith Player of the Year for his stupendous efforts, he took it into March Madness. Two so-so games in the first two rounds saw Villanova’s depth get them to the Sweet Sixteen, only for Brunson to drop 27 to beat a game West Virginia squad with Jevon Carter.

He took a backseat from there, scoring 15, 18, and just nine in the final three games while setting up for his teammates, Donte DiVincenzo and Mikal Bridges, to claim his second national championship. Finally, he’d go on to the NBA to redeem his father’s disappointment.

But once again, he was doubted.

Despite being the best player in college basketball, he slid out of the first round. It wasn’t unusual to see this, given how Kansas’ Frank Mason fell similarly in 2017, but it was still disappointing. He proved how good he was, yet waited patiently while three of his teammates and the likes of Chandler Hutchison, Landry Shamet, Džanan Musa, Elie Okobo, and even the same Carter he outdueled in the Sweet Sixteen went over him.

His drop finally ended at No. 33, when the Dallas Mavericks added to their haul of Luka Doncic by drafting the proven winner. It would simultaneously be their biggest heist… and their biggest failure.

Playing time wasn’t guaranteed. Not only would Doncic be the team’s future at guard, but they spent a lottery pick on Dennis Smith Jr. the year before. He spent much of the year on the bench, but he got sporadic starting opportunities when Smith was injured.

Things changed, though, when Smith was jettisoned to New York in the Kristaps Porzingis trade. Brunson immediately got more playing time and started alongside Doncic for the final two months, while also learning from the retiring Dirk Nowitzki out the door, a consummate leader and professional. In a March game against the playoff-bound Spurs, he scored 34 points on just 16 shots.

It seemed like his future was bright, but he hit a snag in 2019-20. A reworked Mavericks team prioritized surrounding Doncic with off-ball shooters and defenders, prompting guys like Tim Hardaway Jr. and Delon Wright to get more opportunities. Couple that with a late-season shoulder injury, and it can be argued that Brunson had a sophomore slump, averaging fewer points and fewer minutes in just 57 games.

But the best can make the best of a bad situation, which is exactly what Brunson did. Despite spending much of his third season as the team’s sixth man, he took his game to another level and made himself indispensable. When he got extended minutes, he showed up. When the team entrusted him with closing games, he made the right plays. He finished fourth in Sixth Man of the Year voting in 2020-21, but the Mavericks crashed and burned in Round 1.

At this point, entering his fourth season, Jalen had completed the mission statement. He was a real player for an NBA franchise, something that Rick was never able to accomplish. He had a real future ahead of him. The Mavericks inserted him in the starting lineup in mid-December 2021 after Doncic went down with injury, looking to see the kind of spark he could provide.

He’d never be put back on the bench.

In the final 55 regular-season games, he averaged 17.1 points and 4.8 assists on 50.6/39.2/86.9 splits. By the time Luka returned a few weeks later, Jason Kidd didn’t dare put him back on the bench. In December, Brunson’s camp went back to the Mavs brass to try and get a $55 million extension done after the two sides couldn’t agree in the offseason.

Dallas said no.

After the trade deadline, Dallas was finally willing to give their burgeoning young guard that extension.

Brunson said no.

Come playoff time, Doncic was once again sidelined with a calf injury, handing the reins to Brunson to start the playoff run against Donovan Mitchell and the Utah Jazz.

With a certain front office contingent in the stands, Brunson scored 24 in a close loss in Game 1. Two days later, he dropped 41 to even up the series. He scored another 31 in a Game 3 win. Even when Doncic returned, Brunson was the catalyst in a six-game series win, averaging 27.8 points a game.

Another 28-point outburst in Game 3 against Phoenix won a crucial swing game. He scored 24 in a blowout Game 7 that sent that franchise spiraling. Even in a doomed five-game series against Golden State in the Western Conference Finals, he had 31 in Game 2 and walked off the floor after the best 18-game stretch of his NBA career after Game 5 with his future unknown.

As he entered free agency, his market had ballooned. In June, the Knicks made it clear that they wanted to bring the Jersey native home. They hired Rick as an assistant on Thibodeau’s staff, they maneuvered around the draft to clear cap space.

For a team coming off a disappointing 45-loss season and a failed Kemba Walker experiment, they had three options. Blow it up by trading Julius Randle and go back into a rebuild, continue to build methodically, or go star chasing.

They wanted to do No. 3, probably, but they didn’t want to go all-out for Donovan Mitchell or Dejounte Murray. I wouldn’t call Brunson a consolation prize, but that’s what the media probably believed.

In a sweepstakes that the NBA later constituted as tampering, Brunson chose New York four years ago to this day. Four years, $104 million. He considered returning to Dallas on a buffed-up deal and even flirted with Pat Riley down in Miami, but home was calling.

It was immediately called an overpay by every pundit out there. CBS Sports said he was a clear bust candidate. Nick Wright called it the saddest sweepstakes ever. Stephen A. Smith said he wasn’t the answer. Bill Simmons said he wasn’t a marquee talent.

More doubters, more people he had to prove wrong.

When he was introduced, he didn’t promise anything special. He didn’t promise to be a savior. He just wanted to bring stability and progress to a franchise that had not had a stable starting point guard in a decade and a half.

Things started pretty well. It was abundantly clear that this was the best point guard the team had in a long time, but it wasn’t anything special… yet. He recorded three consecutive 30-point games in November 2022, but the Knicks lost two of those games.

We all have different answers for when we thought Brunson might just be different. Some say they knew as early as his 27-13-7 masterpiece against Charlotte in October. My answer? When he capped a brilliant 30-point effort against the Bulls by crossing Alex Caruso out of his shoes:

He just kept hooping. 38 against San Antonio, 44 against Giannis and the Bucks. In 15 games in the month of January, he averaged 28.7 points on 44.7% from downtown. He kept it going with 41 in an overtime loss to the Clippers. The Knicks were good, but not great yet. He was snubbed from both the All-Star Game and All-NBA in Year 1, but showed that the sky was the limit with 48 against the Cavaliers in late March.

His first playoff run as a Knick started innocently enough with a solid series against an overmatched Cavs team, but he got enough support around him that he didn’t need to be legendary. But against Erik Spoelstra, Jimmy Butler, and the Heat? He was all alone, and he rose like a phoenix.

30 in a Game 2 win.
32 and 11 in Game 4.
38-9-7 in a Game 5 win.

In Game 6, he dropped 41 points on 14-for-22 from the field and 5-for-10 from three. The rest of the team shot 26.5% from the field and 5-for-25 from deep. He had absolutely no help.

By the end of it, Spoelstra sang his praises. A man who’s led some of the best teams of the modern era and seen transcendent talent after transcendent talent called Brunson the truth.

It was an endorsement we hadn’t quite seen yet. Sure, Kendrick Perkins and a few other small voices stated their belief, but the consensus going into 2023-24 was that he wasn’t good enough.

While it was now clearly his team after Randle’s playoff escapades, nobody believed he was a No. 1 option. In December 2023, Inside the NBA ran a segment about the Knicks stagnating as a good but not great team in the East.

For some ridiculous reason, Becky Hammon decided to turn it into a spiel about why small players can’t win a championship. Nevermind the fact that the discussion was merely about how the Knicks get to the top of the East and that she later said that Joel Embiid qualified as a 1A because of his size while being unable to get past the second round, but that’s besides the point.

For the rest of his career, this clip would be used whenever he struggled, failed, or fell short. No exceptions. The only way he could stop it was by winning.

That’s not to say he didn’t try initially, though. His second season with the Knicks was even better, averaging a blistering 28.7 points and 6.7 assists with good efficiency, carrying an undermanned team that missed both Randle and OG Anunoby for much of the second half to the East’s No. 2 seed with limited offensive help.

He made his first All-Star team, was named Second-Team All-NBA, and even came fifth in MVP voting. As the season progressed, you could see the star that was burgeoning in front of us. He scored 50 with the most efficient second half in the history of the sport against Phoenix early in the season.

He dropped 61 in a loss to the Spurs late in the season, where Victor Wembanyama dropped 40/20 and an exhausted Brunson not only failed to break the franchise’s single-game points record, but ran out of gas at the end of the game.

40-point games were the norm in the second half. He sustained a scary knee injury in March in Cleveland, but was back on the floor five days later. With the world collapsing around him, he put up the best individual season by a Knick in decades.

In the playoffs? Superman put on his cape again. After struggling in the first two games against Philly, the same team that ended his dad’s NBA career, he averaged 41 points and 10 assists in the final four games to send them home.

Against Indiana, he did his best to overcome more and more injuries, destroying the team around him. Two more 40-balls later, the series was tied at three heading into a Game 7 at MSG, but the injury bug finally caught up to him. Already without Randle, Anunoby, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Mitchell Robinson, and with both Josh Hart and Isaiah Hartenstein badly hurting, Brunson fractured his hand on Tyrese Haliburton’s kneecap in the third quarter.

His season, and the team’s season, was over.

Around that time, he also learned he was snubbed from the 2024 Paris Olympics’ roster in favor of guys like Haliburton and Jayson Tatum. Once again, he was passed over for people he had outplayed. The fractured hand would’ve likely kept him off regardless, but he was never even considered.

By the time he put the orange and blue back on the following season, the team was totally different. DiVincenzo and Randle were gone; Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges were here. Never again would they allow themselves to be caught with their pants down without any star power.

Brunson’s usage would never be as high as it was in 2023-24 again, so you didn’t see the weekly 40-piece as part of his diet. He had just three of them all season long, but one of them was a 55-point masterpiece against Washington in late December.

But being a facilitator wasn’t his biggest strength. He had a 17-assist game in November, but only had one other game over 12. His season was more about consistently maintaining his 26-point scoring average and his exploits as the NBA’s Clutch Player of the Year, consistently bailing out a team that wasn’t deep nor schematically superior enough to dominate.

He finally donned his cape again in the playoffs. With every possession so crucial, Thibodeau’s offense ground to a halt, and they relied on him to bail them out. He scored 30 in five of the six games against Detroit, most notably his 40 in the closeout Game 6 that sent Ausar Thompson flying and the Pistons home.

He didn’t have to do too much in a Boston series that was more focused on relentless defense and grit, but he outdueled Jayson Tatum with 39 in a Game 4 win that broke the defending champions’ spirit.

In a rematch against Indiana, he scored 79 total points in the first two games, both losses. Despite averaging 30.7 points on above-average efficiency for a guard, Indiana’s offense wrecked a helpless Knicks defense, sending them home in six games.

With three failed playoff runs, there were serious doubts creeping in about Brunson’s ability to be the best player on a championship team. Sure, the media had been saying this for years, but even the fanbase was starting to worry. For the first time in several years, mock trades were beginning to get a new 1A. Those Giannis rumors in the offseason didn’t help.

A tumultuous 2025-26 season didn’t help. Recurring ankle injuries made the 29-year-old a step slower and less consistent. His shot wasn’t falling as often as before. The new Mike Brown system had players around him questioning their roles, leading to uncertainty all around. The highlight of the regular season was the run to the NBA Cup Final, where Brunson took home NBA Cup MVP.

He still made Second-Team All-NBA, but after gaining the respect of so many in the prior two years, the media began circling again as the Knicks scuffled early in the postseason.

They called Cade Cunningham better. They called Tyrese Maxey better. They called Haliburton better. Multiple reporters posted All-NBA ballots that even had the likes of Chet Holmgren, Deni Avdija, Jalen Duren, Jalen Johnson, and Derrick White over him.

The PR machine had flipped, no more so than his failed late-game execution in Games 2 and 3 against Atlanta. His entire Knicks tenure had been defined by always being the best player on the floor in the clutch.

We all know that something big happened in the locker room after that Game 3, but you also have to think of the switch that flipped mentally for some of these players, some of the realizations that they made.

If this is how they went out, what would happen next?

For Brunson, he knew this franchise was still his, but he surely thought of everything around him. Would another disappointing exit prompt his two Villanova buddies to be ushered out the door? Would his dad be let go to make room for a new voice on the staff? Would James Dolan get rid of Leon Rose, a longtime family friend of the Brunsons, who, along with Thibodeau, made the decision to come to New York much easier than it must’ve been?

And even his own financials. He took a massive pay cut in 2024 to help build this team, hoping that he’d be repaid down the road with a mega extension in 2028. But if he’s already regressing now and the team is going nowhere, why would they give him $400 million?

The switch flipped for him and the team the following game. In Game 5, he scored 39 at the World’s Most Famous Arena, finally solving the Dyson Daniels puzzle and putting a dagger into Atlanta’s hearts that they never recovered from.

Against Philly, he replayed the hits from 2024, just against a much sadder edition of the Sixers. 35 points in a Game 1 blowout, 33 points in a Game 3 that stole their soul. Ho hum.

Then came the Eastern Conference Finals. A chance at redemption, this time against a similar Cavs team to the one they dispatched in 2023. Unfortunately for them, the rust was evident and they were getting blitzed in Game 1.

93-71. Under eight to go. Brunson tried to rally the troops, but it was likely all for naught.

But that’s the thing about the Brunson era. When someone writes you off, you don’t write back. He absolutely decimated James Harden 1-on-1 for what felt like six minutes straight and willed the Knicks back in it, dropping 38 points in the greatest comeback in franchise playoff history.

He didn’t really do much the remainder of the series, outside of a casual 30 in Game 3, but was still named Eastern Conference Finals MVP for his troubles. The man who claimed he wasn’t a savior had brought the Knicks to the NBA Finals for the first time in 27 years.

All that stood in their way? Wemby and the Spurs. The new guard of the NBA that threatened to dominate the sport for the next decade. Almost everyone believed that the Knicks would be their first victims. After all, the West was the much tougher conference!

They doubted Brunson again, but he and his team proved them wrong one more time.

Despite some hellacious defense holding him down in the first three games, it was Brunson who made the big plays to win Games 1 and 2. He walked them down in Game 1 and was able to find the will to overcome a late 14-0 run in Game 2 to hit the crucial shots and get the game-clinching steal.

In Game 4, when the Knicks went down 29, he helped will them back again with the help of a tremendous game by Anunoby. Down by four in the final two minutes, he sized up the 7’5″ freak of nature and cashed a triple right in his face. There’s no fear around these parts.

In Game 5, we got another version of Miami Game 6.

Nobody was helping him. Towns was in foul trouble and couldn’t get going. Bridges and Anunoby were inconsistent. The bench was awful. The Knicks were down 15, and once again, they looked to Brunson.

This time, it wasn’t to save their season, it was to end someone else’s and end 53 years of misery.

Out of the 94 points the Knicks scored in their championship-clinching Game 5, he scored 45 of them. In a game where nobody had it, he was all they needed. Shot after shot, possession after possession.

He just wouldn’t let them lose. Not now. He waited his whole life for this.

He said he wasn’t a savior. He lied.

He has a case to be the greatest Knick in the 80-year history of his franchise. The stats and success of Patrick Ewing and Clyde Frazier, respectively, might argue differently, but he is undoubtedly the most important player in the history of the Knicks.

Without him, they might still be aimlessly wandering the desert. Without everything he’s done for this team, we all might’ve grown old and died without seeing a championship.

How could the Knicks have been so blessed to not only get such a tremendous talent with the heart of a lion to get better and better, but to get one of the best overall leaders that the league has seen in decades?

In 2024, he could’ve waited a year and signed a $269 million extension. Instead, he inked a new one for $156 million. That extra money allowed the Knicks to fit the contracts for his comrades and is allowing Alvarado and Shamet to still be here to this day.

The Knicks have been down double digits dozens of times in the playoffs since he’s gotten here, but they keep winning. They’ve come back down 20+ on five different occasions in two years. They’ve overcome deficits of at least 14 nine times.

It not only takes a level of talent to overcome bad starts like this, but composure. Mental fortitude. It takes a lifetime of knowing that it’s not over until the final whistle to be able to do this game in and game out.

There was a time people doubted that the Knicks had the grit and desire to overcome adversity (ahem, Vince Goodwill). They might just be the most mentally tough team to ever play organized basketball.

This tribute piece is 5,000 words long. It’s the culmination of 53 years of agony, heartbreak, and disappointment. It’s the end of a series that’s seen us honor all 18 members of this championship roster.

The timing is perfect. This (maybe) was published on the exact moment four years after Jalen Brunson signed in New York.

I’d argue that the start of this championship ascent started with hiring Leon Rose, but this real era of Knicks basketball that will go down in history officially started on that late June night.

13-year-old me had his heart broken on June 30, 2019. The last remaining semblance of hope I had surrounding this franchise was gone when KD and Kyrie went to Brooklyn. Porzingis was gone, Zion was a Pelican, and now nobody was coming to save this sinking ship.

16-year-old me was happy seeing Brunson, someone whom I once watched at the 2017 Big East Championship Game as a Nova fan, join the team on June 30, 2022. I thought we needed more than that offseason, but I always knew he was a super talented player who would stabilize the point guard position.

And now, 20-year-old me is writing this, enjoying the 16 days it’s been since I saw something I never thought I’d see. It’s surreal to have watched all of this happen, to see all the ways this franchise has been improbably changed forever.

Porzingis is at the Golden State retirement home. Irving and Durant’s legacies are those of people who needed the help of all-time greats to ever win anything. None of them wanted to take on the challenge that Brunson showed would be so gratifying to complete.

Who would’ve ever thought we’d be talking about veterans’ ring chasing, defending a championship, ring night, and retiring jersey numbers???

Whenever Brunson’s career ends, he’ll end up in the Basketball Hall of Fame, have No. 11 raised to the rafters of the Mecca of Basketball, and go down as one of the best to ever play the game. If the NBA re-did the NBA 75 right now, he’d be on it. When they do the top-100 in 2046, he’ll be honored. It won’t just be for what he’s done for this city, but that’ll be a very big part.

The most improbable NBA champion in decades, in the biggest basketball city in the world, led by someone who everyone thought was too small, not quick enough, not strong enough.

It’s not just worth a Ben Stiller documentary, an ESPN 30-for-30, or endless YouTube video essays and articles. It’s worth a biopic in Hollywood.

If you pitched the entire story of Jalen Brunson as a screenwriter, you’d be shot down for lack of realism

That’s how awesome this is.

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(This concludes P&T’s player-by-player tributes to commemorate the special team that ended our long, half-century nightmare)