NY Knicks Captain Jalen Brunson: The Born Leader

TALKING BASKETBALL, NBA GOALS, AND JUSTIN BIEBER WITH THE STAR OF THE NEW YORK KNICKS.

BY LAURA SCHREFFLER
PHOTOGRAPHY MICHAEL SCHWARTZ

STYLING MARISA MENIST
GROOMING MONICA ALVAREZ

SHOT ON LOCATION AT ZERO BOND, NEW YORK

What you see is what you get when it comes to Jalen Brunson: the New York Knicks star is hard-working, driven, and entirely focused on basketball. But he does have at least one unusual quirk: Brunson is a diehard Belieber.

“I switch up my music on game day a lot, but no matter what, the last song I have to listen to before I run out on the court is any Justin Bieber song,” Brunson confesses during our August Zoom session, just days shy of his 28^th birthday. “It’s been that way since college. I had just started playing [for the Villanova Wildcats when his fourth studio album, Purpose, came out in 2015] and my sister told me that I needed to listen to it. It wasn’t the voice that everyone remembered when we were younger; it was a different type of Bieber. I listened to it and liked it. I actually ended up listening to it before a game during the NCAA tournament; I played well, and we won. So, for the rest of the tournament, I shuffled that album on repeat and ended up winning a national championship with my team. I just kept doing it, and I won again during my junior year. It’s kind of been my thing since, and now I’m actually a fan.”

He was also named Consensus National Player of the Year in 2018 so clearly, something was working with the Brunson-Bieber alignment. Still, I wonder if listening to the “Company” singer pre-game is a superstition of sorts — like, if he listens to it, he still may not win, but if he doesn’t listen, he definitely won’t win. He swears vehemently that this isn’t the case: Bieber has become part of his routine, and he’s very much a creature of habit.

Whether it’s playing “Baby” on repeat or reading the prayer his mom sends by text before every game, New Yorkers by and large should heartily encourage all parts of Brunson’s routine, because the fact of the matter is that they get the job done. He’s done great things for the Knicks in his time with the team: in the 2023-2024 season, he achieved career-high averages in points and assists and had over 36 games with 30+ points, playing a pivotal role in leading his team to the playoffs — and was even named team captain as a result.

Which, despite his NBA All Star and All-NBA Second Team selection status, personally came as a surprise. Brunson keeps his head down and works hard, never preening or trying to be the star — which is, quite likely, in part why he was given the position in the first place.

“My parents raised me to be a leader,” he declares, explaining, “I wasn’t doing the stuff I was doing to be named captain; I was doing it to try to help my team win games. I worked hard and led by example. You’ve got to know how to talk to certain people, because everyone has a different reaction to different leadership styles. It’s my job to understand different temperaments, and with my teammates, especially in the heat of battle, emotions can be high, so you have to understand what’s going on and how to manage those different temperaments. I’m not that person who’s going to go out there and yell and scream and have everyone think, ‘He just wants to be in control.’ That’s not me. I just want everyone to be on the same page, and now, I know my audience.”

Speaking of ‘audience,’ well, the world is watching. And when the news broke of Brunson’s ‘promotion,’ a slew a major athletes came together to congratulate him, including New York Knicks legend and Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing, former New York Yankees captain and Hall of Famer Derek Jeter, former New York Giants quarterback and two-time Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning, former New York Giants defensive end and Hall of Famer Michael Strahan, former New York Mets captain and seven-time All-Star David Wright, and current New York Jets quarterback and four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers, among others.

In his typical humble fashion, Brunson accepted the praise, but didn’t get bent out of shape about it, as many might have when bathed in admiration from such legends. “I didn’t get emotional, but I was really thankful and appreciative to see such champions pulling for me. I just know that I’ve got to go out there and help my team win so that hopefully, I’ll have that champion title too one day.” [Another example of said humility: he still hasn’t celebrated this massive achievement, but that could be down to the fact that he and wife Ali, his high school sweetheart, have a newborn at home; Jordyn James was born just nine days before he received said professional slay. It’s highly likely that he’s too damn tired to celebrate right now — though anyone who’s seen his now-iconic three-point celebration might say otherwise. I’ve gotten to the bottom of the mystery though and, sorry friends, but there is no mystery: he tells me that this now-legendary hand-over-the-mouth gesture “just came to be out of nowhere about three years ago, and it just kept going. It started to become something that people started to notice, but it really doesn’t mean anything, I swear. Now maybe I need to make up a meaning for it.”]

Photo Credit: Michael Schwartz

The word that strikes me about Brunson is “stoic.” Though I can’t see him — he’s currently on his third hour of getting his hair braided (which perhaps might be his one true indulgence), and thus, his camera is off — I can certainly hear him, and everything he’s saying is practical and pragmatic. He is a man intent on scoring that “W” and more than willing to put in the work to obtain it.

When I share my thoughts, he notes that this isn’t the first time he’s been described in this way. “I’d definitely describe myself as ‘stoic’ — and I’ve heard that word a lot. I’m definitely goal-driven and very focused. I don’t like to accept too much praise, honestly, but I will take the heat from my team when we don’t do well. It’s a quality I’ve always had and something that comes naturally to me.”

Brunson is a born leader, wouldn’t you say? That he gets to do so in the first place is a monster achievement, but it’s even more impactful to be able to do so for the Knicks; it’s been a long-held dream since he was a child growing up in nearby South Jersey.

“Playing in New York has been a dream come true,” he says, though admits, “What it means to me is hard to put into words. I remember as a kid, when my dad [former NBA player Rick Brunson, now an assistant coach for the Knicks, who played for the team from 1999 to 2000] played, it was always electric, always the place to be. I remember hearing stories about how special [the Knicks’ home base of Madison Square Garden] was. But once it’s your home arena, it’s a totally different feeling; it’s something you just can’t explain.”

I get the gist: he’s still counting his lucky stars. “It means the world to me to be here,” he agrees. “This is the best place to do anything. It’s the world’s most famous arena for a reason. It’s not the biggest, but it’s the most special. And I just love playing there and having friends and family being there all the time.”

Perhaps he still can’t believe this is his life because it very nearly wasn’t. For a player that’s hailed as one of the greatest in the game, it’s sometimes easy to forget that Brunson wasn’t selected until the second round of the 2018 NBA Draft (by the Dallas Mavericks, where he began his professional career before joining the Knicks in 2022).
It’s extremely relatable and definitely understandable that he’s still sometimes in shock, and has to metaphorically pinch himself to make sure that this isn’t a dream. “I never really thought I would be in this position, especially in New York,” he confides. “When it comes to opportunities, and basketball life, everything’s so up in the air. Most players’ fates are controlled by someone else, because you’re trying to move them around like puzzle pieces in order to create the best team. There are very few who can pick to where they want to go or get the chance to sign an extension and be there for a long time.”

Brunson is referencing the fact that in mid-July, he agreed to a four-year, $156.5 million extension with the Knicks — $113 million less guaranteed

than he was technically able to sign, but that came with a fourth-year player option and gave the team roster flexibility. Although the deal, which will begin with the 2025-26 season, will cost him $37.1 million over the next three years, that fourth-year option sets him up to recoup the $113 million on a four-year, $323 million maximum extension in 2028, or a new five-year, $418 million deal in 2029. It allows him to build a strong team around him and allows him to stay where he wants to be — as such, a total power move.

But then, he’s got goals. And there is no “I” in “team.” He’s going to get that big win by supporting — and with the support — of his fellow Knicks. His dream will become a reality, and he knows exactly how to get there.

“I think that for my career, the most important thing is to be a champion. I want to win. That’s what’s at the top of my list. That’s numbers one, two, three, four or five for long term goals. And then I guess, just like in life, I’ll figure out the rest.”

Photo Credit: Michael Schwartz

ALL ATHLETES are competitive — that kind of goes with the territory. Most are absolutely next level when it comes to any kind of competition, and Jalen Brunson is no exception. For example: he’s a total gamer in his free time, and is currently competing against 12 of his closest friends over Playstation, a situation of which he describes as “nerve-wracking.” The irony is not lost on me that it is a video game —not an actual game — that seemingly stresses him out.
“If you lose, it ruins your entire day,” he insists. “Each game really matters. So, if I play a game, I play at night so that in case I lose, I can go straight to bed.”

He’s almost finished with his braids, and the camera is now on. He sees my shock. “Well, it gets really intense,” he explains. “We’re on a group chat, so when someone loses, we all talk smack about the losers.”

Well, apply that to his real life and times it by a million, and that’s how he feels about basketball. Losing absolutely destroys him. But (yes, there’s a but), “It affects me, but the best thing about the NBA is that you’re going to play again in a day or two. And so, you have a chance to kind of redeem yourself and help your team win. And I mean, there are games where you play great and then you lose. It becomes about how you mentally prepare yourself every single day and have the people close to you hold you accountable. It’s a process that will never be perfected, but it’s something that I love chasing after and doing every single day.”

He’s not perfect, and owns it; there are things he plans on working on this coming season, like consistency. “I think the more consistent you are as a player, the better you’ll be. That starts with your work ethic, it goes along with your goals. Like, hey, these are my goals. How am I going to achieve them? Your confidence goes hand-in-hand with your work ethic — studying to make sure you’re ready to go every single night. There are no off nights. When you do have a bad night — because every player in the league does — it’s about how quickly you bounce back from that. It’s a never-ending process. There are always going to be days where you’re tired, when things don’t go as planned. But I do my best to keep myself level-headed so that the roller coaster ride isn’t too high or too low; it stays at a happy medium.”

This isn’t an easy thing to do, as we all know. Mindfulness, internal strength, those things don’t typically come naturally — they, like everything else, need to be worked on to be perfected. But Brunson has a fire inside of him that he firmly believes comes squarely from being drafted in the second round that gave him something to prove.

“I feel like I have to work my butt off for [whatever my goal might be],” he confides. “Like, I may not achieve it, and that’s OK, but I’m going to continue to work as hard as I can to try and achieve those gains. You’re going to fail, but is it going to define who you are? The answer is ‘no.’ For me, it’s important to have that mindset, because you never know what you’re going to be able to achieve if you sell yourself short.”

In fact, this is why he started his non-profit, the Second Round Foundation (SRF), in 2022. SRF plants seeds to create equity for young people through education, sport, and community with the goal of empowering young people to determine their own success, regardless of background or circumstance.

Photo Credit: Michael Schwartz

The name, he says, is apt: Second Round comes directly from being drafted in the second round. “The name kind of exemplifies being overlooked or being undervalued. I think that exemplifies me because, yes, I was drafted in the second round, but I pushed myself to be better than what people thought. I did not want anyone to put a label on me; I wanted to outwork every person, to be at the top, to be the best person and player I could be.”

As he became more confident, Brunson realized this was something he could pass on to others that felt ‘less than.’ “I wanted to talk to young kids and young adults about how — no matter what people say or think about you — you always have the ability to prove them wrong and also to prove to yourself that you belong. Having that mindset, having that mantra, can take you a long way, because everything’s attainable if you have the right support system, if you have the people around you to push you to be better.”

Brunson has that in his family, but realizes that not everyone does — which is also kind of the purpose for Second Round. He’s simultaneously become a strong advocate for providing access to under-served youth, with a specific focus on food insecurity and homelessness, working with Covenant House as its Player Ambassador Council Chair. He also began working with his former alma mater, Illinois’ Stevenson High School, to help students transform their lives, and supports programs like Top Achievers, a faith-based sports development, leadership, and academic support organization in Plano, Texas.

“It’s definitely been a part of my life that I didn’t think would bring me this much joy,” he admits. “Doing something for someone else, trying to impact other people’s lives for the better… Even if it’s just one person, I’m going in with a goal: how can I influence them to have the mindset that they can achieve whatever they want to achieve?”
Although he’s been working on this goal diligently for the past two years, now it’s become even more personal — he’s got someone looking up to him.

“I’m excited to have something else to play for now. [Having a child is] something that I know is going to make me focus a lot more because I have someone looking up to me.”

The first thing he plans on teaching his daughter is surprising — and no,  he’s not joking. “There’s definitely going to be a couple of things I teach her, but the first one — jokingly, but very seriously — is making her left-handed, just like how my dad made me left-handed. He told me to keep the ball in my left hand as a kid, and now I’m a dominant left-handed basketball player. I do everything else right-handed, but on the court, I’m dominantly left-handed. So that’s one thing.”

The other is more serious, and more in line with what got him to where he is today — and that is confidence. “I would love to teach her how to work hard and how to stay strong. You get your confidence from how hard you work. No matter what she does, she’ll need to know to work hard and not ever quit until the job is done. I want her to learn that, just like my wife and I did: we always finish the job that we started.”

Frankly though, he’d love for Jordyn to be athletically-inclined, or at least athletically-focused, just as everyone in his immediate family is (his sister, Erica, is a sports marketing executive, while his mother, Sandra, previously played volleyball in college) — and, specifically, to take after her dear old dad with a true love of the game. “I would love for her to play basketball. I think it would be great for me to watch her, just how my dad explained to me how great it is for him to watch me… when he’s not cursing me out, that is,” he says with a laugh. “But seriously, it’s something I would love for her to choose; it’s something I would never force. And I would obviously teach her the ways, if that’s what she wants to do. It would bring me a lot of joy.”

He cites several WNBA players that he admires, like Sabrina Ionescu, who plays for the New York Liberty, Las Vegas Aces player A’ja Wilson, who’s been a friend of his since college, and Caitlin Clark, who brought major attention to women’s basketball in the last year. “They’ve all been bringing such joy to the game, but I really want to get Caitlin on [Roommates Show, his podcast with former Villanova and current Knicks teammate Josh Hart], because she’s been absolutely killing it. There are so many role models out there now for young girls, which is great to see, and it’s something that I would love for her to get into if she wants — and I’ll be right there by her side if she does.”
Given that she’s a newborn, Brunson has time on his side to raise his daughter and see her grow into the player he hopes she’ll one day become. Time truly is the greatest luxury to him — a luxury that his persistence, his tenacity, and his hard work have afforded him. He now has the time to do what he loves, surrounded by the people he loves the most, which is a luxury in itself.

Photo Credit: Michael Schwartz

“They are my support system; they are everything that I need, and they keep me levelheaded, making sure I’m not too high, not too low. They know how to push me, but they also know how to lift me up when I’m feeling down. They know what I need at the exact right moment,” Brunson declares.

His family has kept him humble and kind, turning him into the kind of athlete who prefers anonymity to the spotlight. It is, frankly, pretty damn refreshing. “I like just flying under the radar. I don’t like special treatment,” he insists. “I mean, it’s cool every now and then, but I want to live life like a regular person more times than not. I’m a regular person. I love great food and music, I love spending time with friends and family just like anyone else. I’m no different from the next person — I just happen to play basketball.”

Here, I should mention his monster contract yet again, but I do think it serves to highlight his point: despite his wealth and success, Brunson seems completely grounded. You know, outside of his shoe collection — he has what he refers to as a “disgusting amount” — of about 400 pairs. But that seems to be a pretty mild vice for someone of his stature. He also has a small but growing collection of watches, one of which he buys for a major achievement or milestone. Thus far, those include his marriage, making All-Star, and the All-NBA Team. “Let’s see if I can cross a couple more achievements off the list, right?” he says with a smile.

I’m surprised he didn’t buy himself a timepiece for joining his dream team in the first place, but that was luck. Making captain, however, well, that’s a different story. But there’s time — he’s not going anywhere. This “energetic, electric, non-stop, blue collar, phenomenal place to be” is his.

He says, “You know, I realized something recently: that the more genuine and authentic you can be, the more a fan base can embrace you. I am genuinely so happy to be here in New York, and I think that comes across. So, as long as I’m just being myself, and as long as I’m staying true to myself, everything is going to turn out for the better.”

Now that is what I’d call a winning attitude. Wouldn’t you agree?

Photo Credit: Michael Schwartz