© Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
Jalen Brunson Preps Knicks Fans For Playoff Trip
Jalen Brunson offered words of inspiration for New York Knicks fans preparing to support the team at Madison Square Garden this postseason.
New York Knicks fans have cheered on Jalen Brunson's every waking move from the minute he stepped foot in Manhattan in the summer of 2022. Now, he's returning the favor.
The Knicks' point guard cheered on fans preparing to back his group's upcoming trek in the NBA Playoffs, which begins on Saturday evening against the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden (6 p.m. ET, MSG/ESPN). Brunson's appraisal of Knicks fans rounded out an open letter he penned on The Players' Tribune, a platform for athlete essays founded by New York Yankees legend Derek Jeter.
"Playoffs in the Garden? It’s gonna be surreal," Brunson said. "We know you guys are gonna be rockin’ at another level. But the most important thing we have to do is just literally focus on taking it one day at a time, and that’s a message we’re all trying to convey to each other, from the top down — coaches to the players, to everyone."
"We want to make sure that that’s our whole team’s mindset. We can’t deviate from the path. We all have to be on the same team, we all have to have the same mindset to continue to move forward together."
Apr 14, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) smiles after
Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
Brunson and Co. have been devout followers of the "one day at a time" approach amidst a season of peaks and valleys that ended toward the top: the Knicks won 50 games and finished in the second seed on the Eastern Conference playoff bracket for the first time in over a decade despite enduring several major injuries (including a season-ending shoulder ailment for three-time All-Star Julius Randle). They finished 27-14 in front of mostly sellout crowds at MSG this season, good for the fourth-best home record in the East.
While it's Brunson, OG Anunoby, Donte DiVincenzo, Josh Hart, and more that will go down in the box score, it's clear that the point guard has already found his postseason MVP ... or perhaps 19,000 of them.
"To the fans: You make a difference for us. I just want to make that abundantly clear," Brunson said. "Without you, the Knicks aren’t the Knicks. The unconditional love and support has been phenomenal. It’s an honor to play for New York and play in front of this organization, the city, and the fan base. I do not take it for granted one bit. See you on Saturday."
Brunson's efforts have finally given Knicks fans something to cheer about and ended several dubious streaks in metropolitan lore. Placed in the second seed, Brunson has a prime opportunity to end another, as it has been 23 years since Manhattan has hosted games in the Eastern Conference Finals round. That's "good" for the third-longest active streak in the NBA, behind only Washington (45) and Charlotte (44).
