The New York Knicks have the game's new standard for NBA superstars in Jalen Brunson.
Gone are the days of elite, peak athletic talents leading the charge for the league like LeBron James and Kevin Durant.
This mid-2020s era of basketball is now seemingly being run by Brunson, a player who won't wow anyone with his stature or grace of play but, clearly, will wind up coming out on top thanks to his willingness to put everything he has on the table and do the little things that lead to ultimate glory.
If this wasn't already unanimously regarded as the true state of the game, then perhaps Anthony Edwards' recent remarks will sway any remaining naysayers, as he just suggested Brunson deserves the moniker of "Face of the NBA" instead.
With a style of play and swagger that everyone frequently compares to the legendary Michael Jordan, Edwards is widely viewed as the player most are begging to take on the aforementioned label. However, to the four-time All-Star, this distinction belongs to someone who has already won an NBA title, something he has yet to do.
With this, he feels that the Knicks cornerstone, who not only brought a Larry O'Brien Trophy to the Big Apple this past June but also took home a total of 11 separate honors in 2025-26 as a result of his "everyman" efforts, is the most deserving player of all.
Knicks cornerstoner ushering in a new era of willing sacrafices from stars
Brunson's working-man mentality is not merely a theme from this past campaign. Frankly, it's been a constant throughout his career.
Perhaps the highlight showing of his willingness to sacrifice for the sake of winning came two summers ago, when he optionally took a $113 million pay cut with his 2024 contract extension, accepting a four-year, $156.5 million deal rather than the five-year, $269 million contract he was eligible for, all with the purpose of giving the Knicks future financial flexibility.
Needless to say, this decision paid off in the best way possible, for, without his selfless forgoing of such serious coin, the Knicks wouldn't have been able to re-sign guys like OG Anunoby and trade for the likes of Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges, all of whom played major roles in the club's recent title run.
This successful mindset has now spread to other stars looking to add championship rings to their collections, with guys like Victor Wembanyama taking less than the supermax extension this summer to give San Antonio more spending power down the road, and even LeBron reportedly willing to sign for a minimum deal in free agency.
With every passing day, it seems that players are showing more of a willingness to sacrifice for a shot at achieving their ultimate goals. There's a case to be made that Jalen Brunson is the one who set this kind of approach in motion.
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