The city got its first look at New York Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson on Monday night in The Bronx. And while the 25-year-old was given a warm welcome, the result was a 110-97 loss in a Nike Pro City playoff game.
Brunson (24 points) played alongside Obi Toppin (25 points) and Julius Randle (18 points). The Knicks won’t play their first official game of the 2022-23 season for another two months, so fans were able to see their newest point guard in action a bit early.
Yes, the team that featured New York’s trio came up short, but no, it doesn’t matter. It wasn’t the NBA playoffs, nor a regular season game, and not even a preseason game, but the Knicks have still been criticized for the Pro-Am loss (with an emphasis on Pro-Am).
And let’s not forget that Trae Young and John Collins were on the losing end of a Drew League game in Los Angeles on July 23. Where was the “outrage” over that?
Regardless, Brunson isn’t worried about the Pro-Am loss. Why? Because again, it’s Pro-Am.
“They’re pros, they play…I’m not too worried about it. Those guys played really well…I came there, I got a sweat, worked on my game, & got to feel what that NYC energy’s all about”
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) August 11, 2022
— Jalen Brunson to Bart & Hahn on the Knicks takeover team’s pro-am loss in the Bronx Monday pic.twitter.com/iMH9FiHecX
Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson addresses recent Pro-Am loss
Maybe it’s because we’re in the midst of the two slowest NBA months, but the discussions regarding a Pro-Am loss have gone too far. It’s almost as if people expect Brunson to be worried about his decision to sign with the Knicks in free agency because of a loss in The Bronx on a Monday night in August.
Brunson emphasized that he wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to play five-on-five, especially with two of his newest teammates. He then said that the players that they went up against weren’t “scrubs.” That sounds about right, considering that two of the players on the opposing team (Jordan Aaron and Jordan Washington) finished with 40 points each. Maybe Brunson’s biggest flaw is that he was named Jalen and not Jordan.
All jokes aside, the main takeaway for fans should be that Brunson got some time on the court alongside Toppin and Randle. And even better than that, fans that might not be able to make the trip to Madison Square Garden this season got to see Brunson, Toppin, and Randle up-close.
Props to the Jordan duo, but the fact that the Pro-Am loss is still being talked about is proof that October needs to hurry up and get here.
ESPN’s prediction for Knicks’ 2022-23 season record is unsurprisingly off-base
ESPN's NBA insiders predicted the 2022-23 records for every team in the East, and to no surprise, their prediction for the New York Knicks is a little off.