Jalen Brunson left it all out on the court

The NBA Finals MVP played one of his best games of the playoffs when the Knicks needed him most. But when the clock hit 0.0, and Brunson knew he was an NBA champion, the emotions spilled out.

The guard wrapped a towel over his head and cried into his assistant coach and dad Rick Brunson’s shoulder. Those emotions Brunson released were built up through what felt like a “lifetime,” the guard said Monday on “Good Morning America.”

“Honestly, it was like a lifetime, honestly, that’s what it felt like. I knew I had to because I knew that face would look crazy on TV,”  Brunson recalled. “I think the best part about it is that these guys have my back night in and night out. Made that moment 10 times more special”

After sharing that moment with his father, mother and wife, Brunson did his post-game interview on ABC with tears still in his eyes and the towel around his neck. Lisa Salters’ second-to-last question hit him the hardest: what it meant to become champions with his father. 

Brunson, with emotion etched on his face, could only reply with, “you can see it.”

The 29-year-old led the Knicks to their first championship since 1973.

Brunson joined the Knicks with the goal of making the moment that transpired on Saturday night a reality. After leaving the Dallas Mavericks in 2022, Brunson signed a four-year, $104 million contract that many pundits panned as an overpay before he established himself as a franchise cornerstone.

Then, in 2024, Brunson could have waited an extra year to receive a huge payday, but instead took a cut-price four-year, $156 million deal that saved the franchise upwards of $50 million.

The money was spread across the rest of the lineup, making it one of the strongest in the Eastern Conference. The resilient team had to claw back from deficits in the NBA Finals, including a 29-point comeback in Game 4, the largest in NBA Finals history. 

Now, for all of the Knicks players, they will be celebrated on Thursday by all of New York City when the championship parade kicks off from Battery Park.