Sport: Basketball
Born: August 31, 1996
Towns: Cherry Hill, New Jersey
Jalen Marquis Brunson was born August 31, 1996 in New Brunswick, NJ to Sandra and Rick Brunson. Jalen’s mother was a volleyball player in the early 1990s at Temple University when she met his father, who starred at guard for the Owls and went on to play for eight NBA teams—including the 1999 NBA finalist Knicks—in nine seasons.
Rick served as an assistant for several pro teams after that, most recently the Knicks in 2022. The Brunsons lived in and around Cherry Hill during Rick’s pro career and then moved to Linconshire in the northeast corner of Illinois when he landed an assistant coaching job with the Chicago Bulls.
Jalen was entering junior high at this point, but was already on the radar of college recruiters. He was a tall and talented guard with a left-handed shot and astonishing basketball IQ. Jalen was a four-year starter at Stevenson High and was rated the #1 prep point guard in the country in 2014, following his junior season, when he was honored as Illinois Player of the Year.
Jalen was invited to a slew of all-star tournaments and repeated as Player of the Year in 2014–15, leading the Patriots to a state title. During the IHSA finals, he set a new single-game scoring record with 56 points against a team featuring Jahlil Okafor. At the FIBA Americas U-19 Championship, Jalen set a new record for assists and was named tournament MVP. In December 2015, he was named USA Basketball’s Male Athlete of the Year.
By then, Jalen was beginning his college career as the freshman point guard for the Villanova Wildcats. He got off to a fantastic start, leading them to the 2016 national championship over UNC. Jalen’s clutch free throws in the Elite 8 provided the winning margin against #1 seeded Kansas. The Wildcats failed to repeat as champions in 2016-17, but Jalen—who was a unanimous All-Big East pick, decided to forego the NBA draft and return for his junior year.
That decision proved to be a good one. Jalen was named first-team All-American, Big East Player of the Year and National Player of the Year as Villanova ascended to the national championship for the second time in three years. The Wildcats scored double-digit victories in every game on their way to the Final Four, where they beat Kansas 95–79 and Michigan 79–62. Jalen was named to the all-tournament team along with fellow Wildcats Eric Pachal and Donte DiVincenzo.
A couple of months later, Jalen and three other Villanova players—DiVincenzo, Omari Spellman and Mikal Bridges—were taken in the draft. The Dallas Mavericks made Jalen the overall 33rd pick. He mostly came off the bench as a rookie, but saw 38 starts when Dennis Smith Jr., JJ Barea, Seth Curry, Devin Harris or Luka Doncic were injured. In a February loss to the Nuggets, Jalen scored 22 points with Doncic out of the lineup. When Doncic returned against the Pacers six days later, Jalen upped his career-best to 24. His best game as a rookie came against the San Antonio Spurs, when he netted 34 points. He finished the year averaging 9.3 points and 3.2 assists per game—good numbers for a second-round pick who played just 21 minutes a night.
The guard picture in Dallas was still crowded when camp opened in 2019–20, but Jalen’s roster spot was secure. He grew his game over the summer as part of the USA Basketball select team and was projected to be the first point man off the bench, behind newcomer Delon Wright. With Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis healthy and productive—and Dirk Nowitzki retired—the Mavs had an opportunity to make some noise in the playoffs. Jalen averaged 8.2 points and 3.3 assists playing less than a half a game as the backup point guard. His best game was a 27-point, 8-assist performance in a win over the Hawks. When the season ended abruptly in March, the Mavs were 40–27 and primed to make some noise in the playoffs. Unfortunately, they lost in the opening round to the LA Clippers.
Jalen continued to come off the bench in 2020–21, but upped his scoring to 12.6 per game. Finally, in 2021–22, he cracked starting lineup for the Mavs and averaged 16.3 points, 4.8 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game. Jalen was brilliant in the playoffs, as Dallas disposed of the Jazz and top-seeded Suns to reach the Western Conference Finals. He scored 41 points and added 8 rebounds and 5 assists in a Game 2 win over the Jazz and averaged over 27 points for the series. The Mavericks’ dreams of an NBA title ended in the conference finals, when they fell to the Warriors in five games.
After the playoffs, Jalen signed a multiyear deal with the New York Knicks. Many fans in the Big Apple questioned the investment, but it was quickly apparent that the team had found its next superstar. Jalen did a masterful job controlling the tempo of the half court offense, creating opportunities for himself and his teammates. He also became an expert at using his solid physique and great strength to make life miserable for defenders.
In his first year in New York, Jalen upped his scoring to 24.o points a game and led the team with 6.2 assists. The Knicks reversed their 35–47 record from the previous year to 47–35 and won their first-round playoff series against the Cavs before falling to the Miami Heat. Jalen averaged over 30 points a game in the 4–2 loss to Miami.
The 2023–24 campaign was a special one for the Knicks. With Jalen having assumed unquestioned leadership, the team blended the talents of their stars and subs in exciting ways. They won 50 games for the first time in over a decade and crushed the 76ers in the opening round of the playoffs. Jalen’s performance in the postseason was nothing short of astonishing. After averaging a career-best 28.7 points and 6.7 assists per game, he topped 40 points in the final three games of the ’Sixers series. His 47 points in Game 4 broke Bernard King’s franchise record of 46 points in a playoff game. Jalen also became the only player other than Oscar Robertson to produce three 35-point 10-assist games in a playoff series.
The Knicks’ magical run ended in the next round against the Indiana Pacers. Tired and injured, Jalen and his teammates gutted out a 3–2 series lead, but could not seal the deal and lost in seven games. In a heartbreaking Game 7 loss, he fractured his hand.