Why Stevenson High alum Jalen Brunson is playing the best basketball of his career in Year 2 with the Knicks
CHICAGO, Ill. - Jalen Brunson does not want too much of the spotlight.
The New York Knicks point guard shrugged off any suggestion he’s doing anything to keep motivated, keep his stamina up and going strong as the 2023-2024 NBA regular season wanes with the spotlight firmly on him.
"Just doing what I'm doing," Brunson said calmly.
What he did Tuesday was keep that spotlight burning bright as the NBA Playoffs approach. The Knicks’ 128-117 win over the Bulls put New York in the third seed in the Eastern Conference.
It was a reminder of what the Bulls don’t have at this point of the season, but it was a sign of how far the Stevenson High School alum has come.
Not just in his basketball career, but in his NBA career.
Brunson has a history of winning games. He also knows how to bide his time.
At Stevenson, Brunson scored 2,682 career points, placing him among the top 20 scorers in Illinois history. He was part of U.S. National gold medal-winning teams and led Stevenson to the IHSA State Finals in three straight years.
He broke the individual state tournament scoring record with 56 points in his junior season. He’s also just one of a handful of Illinois prep players in history with over 100 career wins.
Brunson still had to wait until his final high school game to come away with an elusive state title.
At Villanova, he won two national championships. One in 2016 on a memorable buzzer-beater and his second in a drubbing of Michigan.
When he moved up to the NBA, he bided his time with the Dallas Mavericks again. Brunson started 63 games in his first two years in the association; in year four, he started 61 games. That led to a massive pay day with the Knicks.
In Year Two as a Knick, Brunson is playing the best basketball of his life, averaging career high 28 points per game and 6.7 assists per game. His average of .9 steals per game is tied for a career high.
So far in April, Brunson has scored fewer than 30 points just once, which was a 20-point outing in a loss to the Miami Heat. Since then, Brunson has scored 35 points, twice, 43 and 45 points.
It’s all a part of how he’s aiming to play his best basketball as the season reaches its most important time.
"As we get close to the end of the season, we've been talking about not jogging towards the finish line, just springing through it," Brunson said. "Making sure we're still playing as hard as we can get through every single day, not just easing our way to the end."
Bulls head coach Billy Donovan coached Brunson in the summer of 2014 when Brunson was named to the FIBA Americas U18 Championship roster. That first impression of him has carried over a decade later.
"He's very, very smart," Donovan said. "Not that I was around him very long, but I had certainly had a summer with him and I was always impressed with his competitiveness. I think that he's a complete winner."
Brunson’s NBA counterparts also speak highly of him. Chicago Bulls point guard Coby White lauded Brunson’s basketball IQ.
White also noted how Brunson does more than just play smart.
"He does a little bit of everything," White said. "He's the engine for that team. They run a lot of stuff for him, but he also does a really good job of getting those guy other guys involved, getting those guys easy looks for threes because he can command so much attention."
Brunson showed Chicago how he can do a little of everything.
In two games in the span of a week at the United Center against the Bulls, Brunson scored a combined total of 80 points.
It wasn’t just showing out because he was back in his home state. He was showing out to thank those who supported him throughout his entire basketball career.
"It's a special, special place," Brunson said. "I have a lot of people from there come to the game to support me. I mean, that means more than scoring 45."
As Brunson walked off the floor after New York won, the Knicks faithful in attendance shouted "M-V-P" chants at him.
Brunson, ever the cool, collected and humble persona, shrugged it off.
"It is what it is," Brunson said.
He doesn’t shrug off the spotlight. It’s why he one of the best point guards in the league.
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