- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,193,606
- Reaction score
- 59
NEW YORK — The Knicks’ captain will be sidelined until later this summer.
All-Star guard and 2026 NBA Finals MVP Jalen Brunson underwent surgery to repair a left wrist injury on Tuesday, league sources confirmed to The New York Daily News. ESPN was first to report the news of the scoring guard’s procedure. Brunson is expected to resume basketball activities later in the offseason, league sources told The News.
The surgery comes after the lefty guard averaged 32.6 points on 39% shooting from 3-point range in the Knicks’ five-game Finals victory over the San Antonio Spurs. Brunson played through a wrist injury through the Finals run and scored 45 points on 14-of-27 shooting from the field and 4-of-7 shooting from 3-point range in the closeout Game 5 against the Spurs.
“I’m hurting right now, I’m not going to lie to you,” he said while in possession of both the Larry O’Brien NBA Finals trophy and the Finals MVP award during this postgame press conference at San Antonio’s Frost Bank Center following the win. “I’m hurting right now.”
Brunson, known for his willingness to play through pain, appeared in 74 regular-season games (not including the Knicks’ NBA Cup final victory over the Spurs) and averaged 26 points and 6.8 assists on 46.7% shooting from the field and 36.9% shooting from 3-point range. He earned his third-career All-Star appearance and third second-team All-NBA honor while leading the Knicks to the franchise’s first championship in 53 years.
“I’ve said it, I hope you guys will listen to me, but he’s a top-three MVP candidate. Everybody kind of mentions his name in passing. They don’t do it seriously enough,” head coach Mike Brown said after Brunson’s 45-point performance. Brunson tied Michael Jordan for the third-most points ever scored in a closeout NBA Finals game, with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bob Petit tied at 50. “You know, people say he’s too small. People say he’s a 1B or a 2B or whatever.
“He is a freaking 1A. He is an MVP candidate.
“And I hope tonight you guys — and I’m talking to the media more than the fans, but I hope you guys recognize what this man is about because he is A1 MVP. He is him.”
Brunson has averaged 26.3 points and 6.8 assists since joining the Knicks in the summer of 2022. The Knicks have a 179-105 record in games Brunson has played and are 39-22 all-time in the playoffs, including a 16-3 run this postseason that featured a near-unprecedented 13-game playoff winning streak.
The surgery is on the wrist to his left shooting hand.
Brunson is entering the second year of his four-year, $156.5 million contract. He is scheduled to earn $37.7 million in the 2026-27 season and $40.5 million in the 2027-28 season before exploring the ability to decline the player option on Year 4 to re-sign a long-term max contract with the Knicks.
Brunson left $113 million on the table when he signed his contract extension with the Knicks in the summer of 2024 instead of waiting for his true unrestricted free agency in 2025. The decision gave the Knicks the financial flexibility to trade for Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns, then re-sign Bridges to a four-year, $150 million deal.
“J.B., I don’t know. I’ve known him for so long. I know how much he works, how good of a person he is, how good of a basketball player he is. I’m just grateful to be on his side again,” Bridges said after winning the title. The two won NCAA championships together at Villanova in 2016 and 2018, then reunited in New York following the deal that sent five first-round draft picks to Brooklyn. “That’s really how I put it. I know how much he works and how much he wants to win. Just grateful to be in this position, to be with him and try to go out there and win.”
Continue reading...
All-Star guard and 2026 NBA Finals MVP Jalen Brunson underwent surgery to repair a left wrist injury on Tuesday, league sources confirmed to The New York Daily News. ESPN was first to report the news of the scoring guard’s procedure. Brunson is expected to resume basketball activities later in the offseason, league sources told The News.
The surgery comes after the lefty guard averaged 32.6 points on 39% shooting from 3-point range in the Knicks’ five-game Finals victory over the San Antonio Spurs. Brunson played through a wrist injury through the Finals run and scored 45 points on 14-of-27 shooting from the field and 4-of-7 shooting from 3-point range in the closeout Game 5 against the Spurs.
“I’m hurting right now, I’m not going to lie to you,” he said while in possession of both the Larry O’Brien NBA Finals trophy and the Finals MVP award during this postgame press conference at San Antonio’s Frost Bank Center following the win. “I’m hurting right now.”
Brunson, known for his willingness to play through pain, appeared in 74 regular-season games (not including the Knicks’ NBA Cup final victory over the Spurs) and averaged 26 points and 6.8 assists on 46.7% shooting from the field and 36.9% shooting from 3-point range. He earned his third-career All-Star appearance and third second-team All-NBA honor while leading the Knicks to the franchise’s first championship in 53 years.
“I’ve said it, I hope you guys will listen to me, but he’s a top-three MVP candidate. Everybody kind of mentions his name in passing. They don’t do it seriously enough,” head coach Mike Brown said after Brunson’s 45-point performance. Brunson tied Michael Jordan for the third-most points ever scored in a closeout NBA Finals game, with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bob Petit tied at 50. “You know, people say he’s too small. People say he’s a 1B or a 2B or whatever.
“He is a freaking 1A. He is an MVP candidate.
“And I hope tonight you guys — and I’m talking to the media more than the fans, but I hope you guys recognize what this man is about because he is A1 MVP. He is him.”
Brunson has averaged 26.3 points and 6.8 assists since joining the Knicks in the summer of 2022. The Knicks have a 179-105 record in games Brunson has played and are 39-22 all-time in the playoffs, including a 16-3 run this postseason that featured a near-unprecedented 13-game playoff winning streak.
The surgery is on the wrist to his left shooting hand.
Brunson is entering the second year of his four-year, $156.5 million contract. He is scheduled to earn $37.7 million in the 2026-27 season and $40.5 million in the 2027-28 season before exploring the ability to decline the player option on Year 4 to re-sign a long-term max contract with the Knicks.
Brunson left $113 million on the table when he signed his contract extension with the Knicks in the summer of 2024 instead of waiting for his true unrestricted free agency in 2025. The decision gave the Knicks the financial flexibility to trade for Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns, then re-sign Bridges to a four-year, $150 million deal.
“J.B., I don’t know. I’ve known him for so long. I know how much he works, how good of a person he is, how good of a basketball player he is. I’m just grateful to be on his side again,” Bridges said after winning the title. The two won NCAA championships together at Villanova in 2016 and 2018, then reunited in New York following the deal that sent five first-round draft picks to Brooklyn. “That’s really how I put it. I know how much he works and how much he wants to win. Just grateful to be in this position, to be with him and try to go out there and win.”
Continue reading...
