Jalen Brunson reflects on Knicks’ first title in 53 years on The View

Jalen Brunson stepped into The View carrying more than a championship trophy. Two days after the New York Knicks beat the San Antonio Spurs 94-90 in Game 5 of the NBA Finals at Frost Bank Center, he was the face of a title that ended 53 years of waiting in New York and reset what Knicks basketball means to the city.

Brunson scored 45 points in the clincher and was named the unanimous NBA Finals MVP by 11 voters, winning the Bill Russell Trophy after a performance that put him in rare company. ESPN said he became one of only four players, alongside Michael Jordan, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bob Pettit, to score at least 45 points in a closeout Finals game. For a franchise that had not won a championship since the 1972-73 season, the night was both a finish line and a civic exhale.

The most human part of the celebration came at midcourt. After the final buzzer, Brunson said he shook hands, turned around and saw his father, Rick Brunson, and felt emotional. Rick Brunson is not only Jalen Brunson’s father, he is also a Knicks assistant coach, which made the scene feel like a family story and a franchise milestone at once. Jalen Brunson called the title “everything we ever dreamed of” and “why I came to New York,” words that landed with fans who had spent generations measuring hope against near-misses.

Brunson’s composure has become part of his value in New York, and he credited his upbringing for helping him carry the pressure. Rick Brunson later said he was proudest of his son’s leadership and the way he carries himself, calling the moment surreal. That steadiness has helped define the Knicks’ rise under Brunson, who signed a four-year, $104 million contract in 2022 after leaving the Dallas Mavericks, a move that was widely questioned at the time but now looks like one of the best free-agent signings in NBA history.

The results have changed the franchise’s floor as much as its ceiling. Before Brunson arrived, the Knicks had won only one playoff series in 21 seasons. With him, they have now won at least one series in each of his four seasons in New York, and the championship has given New York City a new sports memory to build around, one shaped by family, pressure and the long cost of waiting.