Knicks Title Run Cements Jalen Brunson’s Place in New York Sports History

For most of Jalen Brunson’s four years with the New York Knicks, one of the more entertaining Twitter arguments (sports division) has been his place within the all-time Big Apple free agent signings.

Move over, Reggie Jackson. There is no more argument regarding the top spot.

Brunson cemented himself as the greatest free agent signing in New York history Saturday night, when he scored 45 points in Game 5 of the NBA Finals as the Knicks clinched their first title since 1973 with a 94-90 win over the San Antonio Spurs.

But this is not just about Brunson authoring the most iconic performance by a New York athlete in a championship-clinching victory since Oct, 18, 1977, when Jackson hit three homers on three pitches in Game 6 of the World Series as the Yankees won their first title in 15 years with an 8-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Accounting for the second-highest percentage of his team’s points in an NBA championship-clinching victory — some guy named Michael Jordan scored 45 points for the Chicago Bulls in their 87-86 win over the Utah Jazz in Game 6 in 1998 — is just the crowning achievement in a methodical climb for a player whose arrival was greeted with something less than the fanfare Jackson received in following the 1976 season.

Jackson was the second overall pick in baseball’s second amateur draft in 1966 by the then-Kansas City Athletics and was already a two-time World Series champion and one-time American League MVP when he signed with the Yankees following the 1976 season.

Brunson was the national player of the year and a two-time NCAA champion at Villanova — and then the third pick in the second round of the 2018 draft who started just 127 of 277 games with the Dallas Mavericks before signing with the Knicks in July 2022.

Newsday described Brunson as “…a solid NBA guard.” SI.com gave the signing a C while noting his undersized nature (6-foot-1) and struggles to get to the free throw line. A New York Post story quoted a personnel director declaring Brunson’s “…best role is fourth-, fifth-best player on a top-eight team.”

Most stories about the signing noted Brunson’s relationship with Knicks team president Leon Rose, who used to be Brunson’s agent, and the presence of his father Rick, who was hired as a New York assistant coach weeks before Jalen arrived.

Jackson was also joining the defending American League champs and a franchise renowned for its 20 World Series crowns. The Knicks had the worst record in the NBA in the 22 seasons prior to Brunson’s arrival and were a picture of organization-wide dysfunction.

Rose’s transformation of the Knicks is borderline miraculous — and none of it happens if he doesn’t hit on Brunson as the centerpiece of the rebuilding efforts and the leader who can instill in everyone else his toughness and unquenchable thirst for victory.

The Brunson effect was omnipresent during the NBA Finals, when the Knicks led for just 56 minutes and 44 seconds. They overcame double-digit deficits in all four victories, which they recorded by a combined 16 points.

Brunson recorded the points that put the Knicks ahead for good in three of their victories (and hoisted the 3-pointer that OG Anunoby tapped in to win Game 4, when the Knicks trailed by 29 points in the third quarter).

On Saturday night, Brunson carried the Knicks across the finish line when his teammates were mired in their worst shooting night of the postseason. Brunson was 14-of-27 from the field, including 4-of-7 from 3-point land. The rest of the roster was 17-of-60 from the field and 8-of-30 from beyond the arc.

This is not to discredit Jackson’s three-homer game, but he hit them with the Yankees down 3-2, ahead 5-3 and ahead 7-3. Without Brunson, there is no end in sight to the Knicks’ title drought.

Instead, come Thursday, the only endless sight will be the throngs of people gathered in Manhattan for the parade New York never thought it’d see.

“You know, people say he’s too small,” Knicks head coach Mike Brown said late Saturday night. “People say he’s a 1B or a 2B or whatever. He is a freaking 1A. He is an MVP candidate.”

And now, unquestionably, the greatest free agent signing in New York history.