The New York Knicks are only a few games into the 2022-23 regular season, but Jalen Brunson’s impact on the team is already evident. Not only has the Knicks having a true point guard benefitted them, but Brunson’s been a leader off the court too.
Brunson isn’t the type of player that likes attention. The point guard being a free agent in the offseason drew a lot of attention, but after signing with New York, he said that the process was “kind of awful” because of how public it was.
As we all know, New York isn’t an easy market to play in. Julius Randle can attest to that, but Brunson’s from New Jersey and grew up with the Knicks, so he knows what it’s like. In interviews, Brunson’s been calm, cool, and collected. He’s the type of player that keeps his head down and works, but that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t like to have fun.
Last week, Brunson had Immanuel Quickley over to watch football and play Madden.
What Immanuel Quickley says here is something you’ve heard from several Knicks so far: Jalen Brunson has had a big impact off the court for NYK. Brunson had Quickley at his house to watch football last Sunday (Brunson lost to Quickley in @EAMaddenNFL): pic.twitter.com/2bw1n1kitQ
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) October 23, 2022
Immanuel Quickley talks about Jalen Brunson’s impact off the court with Knicks
After New York’s first win of the season over Detroit on Friday, Quickley was asked about Brunson’s impact on the team. IQ said:
"“He’s impacted us on the floor greatly. I think even off the floor has been even bigger. He let me come over to his house and watch the game. I beat him in Madden, so you can put that in there. His energy and leadership has been even bigger. Obviously, everybody’s seen what he’s done on the floor. He’s a great player, we all knew that. He’s a great teammate.”"
Knicks fans get to watch Brunson perform on the floor, but they don’t get to see what he’s like off the floor. Quickley could’ve chosen to only talk about how Brunson’s helped New York on the court, but instead, he highlighted the kind of teammate that he’s like beyond games.
It’s been nearly four months since Brunson signed with the Knicks, so he’s had plenty of time to get to know his teammates, but it’s important for him to continue to make those relationships stronger. Brunson’s only 26, but the experiences that he’s gone through (making it to the WCF last season) will make New York better.
Let outsiders say what they want about Jalen Brunson. There were debates about who the Knicks’ next point guard would/should be, but the Brunson signing is one that will only get better with time.
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