Jalen Brunson

Early life

Born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, Brunson was raised in southern New Jersey until sixth grade. He is the son of Rick and Sandra Brunson. He has a younger sister, Erica. His parents met at Temple University, where Rick played for the basketball team and Sandra played volleyball. There, Sandra was volleyball teammates and roommates with Kobe Bryant's sister, Sharia Bryant. Rick spent nine seasons in the NBA. The family first settled in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, but moved seven times before settling in the Chicago area in 2010, where Jalen played his high school career for Stevenson High School. As a youth, he spent time in NBA locker rooms while his father played for the Knicks and his future head coach Tom Thibodeau worked for the team as an assistant coach. His after-school chores included basketball exercises. While Rick was director of basketball operations at the University of Virginia, Jalen practiced with the Virginia Cavaliers women's basketball team. As a teenager, he trained with Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah. At age 13, he began hiring a professional strength and conditioning coach.

High school career

As a freshman, Brunson was an All–Lake County honorable mention selection in 2012, as Stevenson finished the season with a 17–11 record. During his sophomore season, Stevenson started the season 10–4 before going on a 19-game winning streak. That year, Brunson led Stevenson to the March 16, 2013, IHSA Class 4A championship game against Jabari Parker and Kendrick Nunn's three-time defending state champion Simeon Career Academy, where he got the Simeon backcourt in foul trouble in the first half before being held to one point in the second half of a 58–40 loss. Stevenson finished the season 29–5. Following the season, the Associated Press named him to the Class 4A All-state second team as the only sophomore on the first or second team. Brunson averaged 21.5 points that season.

On February 21, 2014, junior Brunson scored 57 points in a double overtime victory over Lake Forest High School. The performance gave him both the school single-game and career scoring records. On March 21, Brunson set the IHSA playoff single game scoring record against the Jahlil Okafor–led Whitney Young High School by scoring 56 points in a 75–68 state playoff semifinal loss. Brunson averaged 26.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 2.9 steals for a Stevenson team that finished the season with a 32–2 record. Brunson was named Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of Illinois as a junior. Following the season, Associated Press named him as the only non-senior on the Class 4A All-state first team that also included Okafor, Cliff Alexander, Tyler Ulis and Sean O'Mara. He finished fourth in the 2014 Illinois Mr. Basketball voting.

In April 2014, Illinois, Purdue, Kansas and Villanova had in-home visits. On May 3, 2014, he announced the eight schools that he was considering playing college basketball for: UConn, Michigan State, Illinois, Kansas, Purdue, Villanova, Michigan and Temple. That summer, he was the No. 1-ranked point guard, according to ESPN, although the class had a notable shortage of elite pure point guards. On June 25—the day after Jalen won a gold medal at the 2014 FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship—Rick Brunson received an offer as an on-bench assistant coach from Temple. The Temple offer fell through when Rick Brunson was arrested on various charges on July 25, and Temple fell out of the running for Jalen's services. Brunson participated in the July 9–11 LeBron James Skills Academy. On August 5, he announced official visits to Illinois on August 29–31, Villanova on September 4–6 and then Temple from September 11–13 and on August 9, he announced official visits to Michigan State from September 19–21 and Purdue on September 26–28.

Recruiting

Brunson, like his father, is a left-handed basketball player. In what was regarded as a weak point guard class, Brunson was the only point guard that was ranked in the top 25 players at the conclusion of the class of 2015's junior season. In addition to high ratings by the recruiting services, Brunson's peers voted him to be the best passer in high school basketball prior to his senior season.

College career

Freshman season

Brunson was a selection to the 20-man Bob Cousy Award preseason watchlist. He was also selected as the 2015–16 Big East Conference Preseason Freshman of the Year by the conference coaches although Henry Ellenson was the only freshman selected to the 2015–16 Preseason All-Big East First or Second Team. Brunson's 2015–16 Wildcats were the unanimous coaches preseason selection to win the conference. In preseason top 100 player rankings Brunson was ranked 46 by ESPN and 41 by NBC Sports. During the preseason, Mike Rutherford of SB Nation selected Brunson as one of its 10 most important college basketball players for 2015–16. He made the initial 50-man John R. Wooden Award watch list on November 17. On December 2, Brunson earned recognition on the 18-man Wayman Tisdale Award watchlist.

Brunson opened the season in the starting lineup with 12 points and 4 assists against the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights on November 13. On November 26 in the semifinals of the NIT Season Tip-Off against Stanford, Brunson posted 18 points. On December 28, he posted a then career-high 22 points against Penn. The 22-point effort was part of a 3–0 week for Villanova in which Brunson averaged 15.3 points and earned Big East Freshman of the Week. On February 8, the 2015–16 Wildcats became the first Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team to reach number one in the AP Poll by climbing to the top of the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings. Following the 2015–16 Big East season, he was a unanimous Big East All-Freshman Team selection. In the 2016 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament regional final against Kansas Brunson made the final two free throws that gave the Wildcats a two-possession lead with 3.5 seconds left. The 2015–16 Wildcats won the championship game of the tournament by defeating the North Carolina Tar Heels 77–74, with Brunson as a starter.

Sophomore season

Brunson was a selection to the 20-man Bob Cousy Award preseason watchlist again as a sophomore. He was a preseason All-Big East honorable mention selection. On December 5, the 2016–17 Wildcats ascended into the top position in the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings. The following night, Brunson posted a then career-high 26 points in a Philadelphia Big 5 win over La Salle. After helping guide Villanova to a victory in its 2016–17 Big East season opener against DePaul on December 28, Brunson scored a career high 27 points in an 80–70 December 31 win over No. 10 Creighton to propel No. 1 Villanova to a 14–0 record and 2–0 in conference play.

These two performances earned Brunson Big East player of the week recognition on January 2. Brunson was named to the February 9 Naismith Award Top 30 watch list. On February 18, against Seton Hall, Brunson posted his first career double double with a career-high 10 assists and 22 points. Following the regular season, he was one of four unanimous selections to the 2016–17 All-Big East first team. After averaging 14.7 points and 4.1 assists as a sophomore, Brunson decided to return to Villanova for his junior season. After the season ended and the 2017 NBA draft class was finalized, Brunson was projected to be a preseason All-American by NBC Sports.

Junior season

He was the 2017–18 preseason All-Big East player of the year. He was a pre-season All-American selection by Associated Press (1st team) and ESPN (2nd team). He was a preseason John R. Wooden Award, Oscar Robertson Trophy, Lute Olson Award and Naismith College Player of the Year watchlist honoree. Brunson led Villanova to the championship of the 2017 Battle 4 Atlantis, earning the MVP of the tournament and being recognized on November 27 as the Big East Player of the Week. On December 13, Brunson scored a career-high 31 points, including 22 in the first half, to lift the Wildcats over Temple 87–67. The next time he would score 31 points in a game was on December 30, 2017, when Villanova lost its first game of the season to Butler. He posted a third 31-point total on January 28 to help Villanova to an 85–82 victory over Marquette.

Brunson was named as an Academic All-District selection, making him one of 40 finalists for the 15-man Academic All-America team. He was named as one of 10 semifinalists for the Naismith Award. He was named as one of 20 late-season finalists for the Wooden Award. Following the regular season, Brunson was one of three unanimous 2017–18 All-Big East selections, and he was named both the Big East Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year and the Big East Scholar-Athlete of the Year a few days later. As a scholar, he was on pace to graduate during the summer after his junior season.

He was a consensus first-team All-American after being selected as a first-team All-American by Sporting News, USBWA, Associated Press, and NABC. He was also awarded the USBWA Oscar Robertson Trophy the Associated Press College Basketball Player of the Year, the Naismith College Player of the Year, the John R. Wooden Award, the NABC Player of the Year, CBS Sports National Player of the Year, the Bob Cousy Award, and Sporting News Player of the Year. Brunson was a second-team Academic All-America selection. Brunson was named Most Outstanding Player of the East Region and was joined on the East Region All-tournament team by Omari Spellman and Eric Paschall. Villanova won the National Championship Game of the 2018 NCAA men's basketball tournament. Following his junior season, he declared for the 2018 NBA draft and hired an agent. On December 17, 2019, Brunson was named college basketball player of the decade by Sporting News.

Professional career

Dallas Mavericks (2018–2022)

On June 21, 2018, the Dallas Mavericks drafted Brunson with the 33rd overall pick. He was the fourth and final Villanova player to be selected in the 2018 NBA draft. Brunson did not sign until after he completed his 2018 NBA Summer League play and was accorded a 4-year contract similar to a first round selection with 3-years guaranteed. He made his NBA debut on October 17, 2018, recording three points, one rebound, and an assist in a 121–100 loss to the Phoenix Suns. After coming off the bench for his first four NBA games, Brunson started in place of the injured Dennis Smith Jr. on October 26, against the Toronto Raptors, scoring eight points, four assists, and three rebounds. On November 8, Brunson posted 11 points against Utah Jazz. Brunson replaced Smith in the starting lineup and posted career highs of 14 points on December 8 against the Houston Rockets and 17 points on December 10 against the Orlando Magic.

On January 5, 2019, he was honored by the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association as its Amateur Athlete of the Year. That same night, with J. J. Barea and Devin Harris sidelined, Brunson posted 13 points, a career-high 11 rebounds, and a then-career-high eight assists against the Philadelphia 76ers for his first professional double-double. Starting in place of Luka Dončić on February 22, Brunson posted a then career-high 22 points against the Denver Nuggets. On March 12, 2019, Brunson improved upon his career high with 34 points with five rebounds, four assists, and a steal in a 112–105 loss to the San Antonio Spurs. On April 7, Brunson posted a then career-high 10 assists along with 12 points against the Memphis Grizzlies for his second career double-double.

With Dončić out of the lineup on December 16, 2019, and Brunson starting, the 2019–20 Mavericks ended an 18-game win streak by the Milwaukee Bucks, on a night when Brunson posted a career-high 11 assists and his first double-double of the season (13 points). On March 13, 2020, Brunson was reported to have undergone surgery to fix a labrum injury in his right shoulder. During the 2020–21 NBA season, Brunson averaged career highs in points, rebounds, and assists, finishing fourth in voting for the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award.

In the 2021–22 NBA season, Brunson became a starter and again finished the season achieving career highs in points, rebounds, and assists. His breakout continued in the playoffs, where he led the Mavericks, who were without Luka Dončić for the first three games against the Utah Jazz. On April 16, 2022, during game 1 of the first round, Brunson logged 24 points, seven rebounds, and five assists in a 99–93 loss to the Jazz. On April 18, during game 2, Brunson had the best game of his career up to that point, where he dropped 41 points, eight rebounds, and five assists in a 110–104 win over the Jazz. On May 15, Brunson scored 24 points and grabbed six rebounds in a 123–90 game 7 win against the first-seeded Phoenix Suns, securing the Mavericks a place in the Western Conference finals. On May 20, during game 2 of the Western Conference finals, Brunson recorded 31 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists in a 126–117 loss against the Golden State Warriors.

New York Knicks (2022–present)

On June 2, 2022, his father was hired by the New York Knicks as an assistant coach. On July 12, 2022, Brunson signed a four-year, $104 million contract with the New York Knicks. The Knicks were later punished for engaging in conversations with Brunson before the free agency window opened. On October 19, he made his Knicks debut in a 115–112 loss in overtime to the Memphis Grizzlies, scoring 15 points with nine assists and six rebounds. On October 26, Brunson scored 27 points, recorded 13 assists, and grabbed seven rebounds during a 134–131 overtime victory against the Charlotte Hornets.

On January 4, 2023, Brunson scored 38 points alongside seven rebounds and six assists in a 117–114 win over the San Antonio Spurs. On January 9, Brunson put up a then-career-high 44 points in a 111–107 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. On January 16, Brunson was recognized as NBA Eastern Conference player of the Week for the week of January 9–15 after averaging 34.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 5.0 assists with 3 30-point games as the Knicks went 3–1 for the week. It was his first career NBA Player of the Week award. On January 18, Brunson scored 32 points in a 116–105 loss against the Washington Wizards. He scored 25-plus points in eight straight games, the longest streak by a Knicks guard since Dick Barnett in 1965. Barnett logged 25 or more points in 12 consecutive contests.

On February 4, Brunson scored 41 points on 14-of-19 shooting, 5-of-7 from three, 8-of-10 from the free throw line, along with five rebounds and seven assists in a 134–128 overtime loss against the Los Angeles Clippers. On February 8, Villanova retired his jersey. On February 13, Brunson put up 40 points on 15-of-21 shooting from the field and added five assists in a 124–106 win over the Brooklyn Nets. On March 1, Brunson scored 39 points (30 points in the first half) on 15-of-18 shooting, 5-of-6 from three, and 4-of-4 from the free throw line in a 142–118 win over the Brooklyn Nets. On March 2, Brunson won his first NBA Player of the Month award when he was named the NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month for February. He finished the month with 27.3 points and 6.0 assists while shooting 42.6% from three-point range and 52.9% overall. The Knicks went 9–2, finishing out the month with six straight wins. On March 31, Brunson scored a career-high 48 points (33 points in the first half) on 18-of-32 shooting from the floor and delivered nine assists in a 130–116 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. In game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Miami Heat, Brunson put up 32 points and 11 assists in a 109–101 loss. He joined Walt Frazier and Patrick Ewing as the only players in Knicks history to put up at least 30 points and 10 assists in a playoff game. New York would lose to Miami in six games despite Brunson tying his playoff career high of 41 points in a 96–92 game 6 loss.

Playing style

Brunson is known for having elite footwork, but not elite athleticism. Brunson describes himself as a "hustle player". Brunson draws a high number of offensive fouls. This includes charging fouls as well as non-charging fouls such as "illegal screens, pushoffs and other forms of induction". This is a result of a style of play that evolved out of necessity due to being equipped with strength and agility, but not the height, length or verticality to differentiate himself off the ground.

National team career

On May 5, 2014, USA Basketball announced the 21 athletes (including Brunson) invited to try out from June 10 to 19 for the 12-member USA national team for the June 20–24, 2014 FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship. Eventually, 24 players tried out for the team and the roster was cut to 15 on June 12. Brunson made the final 12-man roster that was announced on June 15. In the opening game, Brunson surpassed Stephon Marbury's 12 assists against Brazil in the 1994 FIBA Americas U18 Championship by recording 13 against Uruguay to set a new USA Basketball U18 single-game assist record. The United States claimed a gold medal in the tournament. On August 16, Brunson was named to the Nike Global Challenge USA All-Tournament team along with Stephen Zimmerman, D. J. Hogg, Malik Monk, Jaylen Brown and Bam Adebayo. Brunson led the Midwest team to a third-place finish in the eight-team tournament.

On June 18, 2015, Brunson was announced as a member of the 12-man 2015 USA Basketball Men's U19 World Cup Team for the 2015 FIBA Under-19 World Cup. Brunson earned MVP of the tournament, after leading the team with 5.6 assists and 2.1 steals for the tournament. He posted a game-high 30 points in the semifinals against Greece, and he tallied a team-high 14 points including six in overtime as well as seven assists, five rebounds and a steal in the gold medal game against Croatia. Brunson tied teammate Harry Giles, with a 14.0 average for the tournament. He dominated in the final two games. Based on this performance, he was recognized as the USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year, on December 21.

Brunson was one of the first commitments to the 2023 U.S. World Cup team, according to a June 4, 2023, tweet from Marc Stein, that was referenced by CBS Sports. The roster was finalized by July 3, with a relatively inexperienced squad. The United States finished fourth in the tournament but finished high enough (top 2 in the Americas) to secure a 2024 Olympic Games invitation.

Awards and honors

NBA

NBA champion: 2026

NBA Finals MVP: 2026

3× NBA All-Star: 2024–2026

3× All-NBA Second Team: 2024–2026

NBA Cup champion: 2025

NBA Cup MVP: 2025

NBA Cup All-Tournament Team: 2025

NBA Eastern Conference Finals MVP: 2026

NBA Clutch Player of the Year: 2025

NBA All-Star Weekend Shooting Stars Competition winner: 2026

USA Basketball

USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year: 2015

FIBA Under-19 World Cup gold medalist: 2015

FIBA Under-19 World Cup MVP: 2015

FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup All-Tournament Team: 2015

FIBA Americas U18 Championship gold medalist: 2014

NCAA

2× NCAA champion: 2016, 2018

National college player of the year: 2018

Consensus first-team All-American: 2018

Lute Olson Award: 2018

Career statistics

Records

Most single-game three-point shots without a miss (9, tied)

Most single-half three-point shots without a miss (8)

Consecutive playoff games with 40+ points/5+ assists (4)

Playoff scoring average minus regular season scoring average (6.8, min 50 playoff games, through 2026)

Single-season 30-point games (36, tied)

Single-season 30-point point/assist double-doubles (6)

Single-game playoff points (47, April 28, 2024)

Single-half playoff points (28, May 14, 2024)

Career playoff 20-point halves (12 through 2024 playoffs)

First playoff 40-point point/assist double-double (April 28, 2024)

Career playoff 40-points games with the Knicks (9)

Career playoff 35-point games with the Knicks (18)

Career playoff 30-points games with the Knicks (30)

Consecutive playoff 30-point point/assist double-doubles (2, April 25 & 28, 2024)

Consecutive playoff 30-point/5-assist games (5)

Consecutive 20-point playoff games (20)

NBA finals single-game points (45, 2026 game 5)

Personal life

On September 21, 2022, Brunson announced his engagement to physical therapist Ali Marks, his high school sweetheart. The proposal took place at Stevenson High School's gymnasium following Brunson's induction into the school's athletic Hall of Fame. Brunson and Marks were married on July 29, 2023, at The Ritz-Carlton Chicago; Brunson's current and former teammates were in attendance. The wedding had to be moved forward from Labor Day weekend (September 2) to accommodate Brunson's selection to United States men's national basketball team for the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup. Brunson and Marks welcomed their first child, a daughter, on July 31, 2024.

Brunson is close friends with New York Knicks teammate Josh Hart, a former teammate at Villanova and both run a podcast called Roommates together. Along with other former Villanova and Knicks teammates, Hart and Donte DiVincenzo were in attendance at Brunson's wedding to Marks, and DiVincenzo served as a groomsman.

On June 28, 2024, Brunson appeared in WWE SmackDown at Madison Square Garden, alongside Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton.

Brunson is of Jamaican descent through his maternal grandparents who were both born in Jamaica.