Knicks' Jalen Brunson Learns Family Secret at FIBA World Cup
No matter what happens to the United States' men's national basketball team at the upcoming FIBA Basketball World Cup, it'll undoubtedly serve as a positive learning experience for its participants, many of whom are making their maiden voyage on the American senior team.
For New York Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson, the learning began before he and his national teammate took the floor at SM Mall of Asia Arena in Manila: addressing the international press upon arrival, Brunson was informed of a family secret, one that makes the team's Filipino activities a bit of a homecoming.
During questioning, Brunson was informed by the Philippine Daily Inquirer reporter Jona Terrado that his father Rick stands as a Filipino professional basketball folk hero of sorts, called upon to rep popular Philippine Basketball Association team Barangay Ginebra San Miguel. With Ginebra attempting to salvage a strong finish in the 1998 edition of the prestigious Governors' Cup, the team called in the elder Brunson and fellow NBA veteran Kenny Payne.
Brunson the son was "barely two years old" at the time of the event, which came shortly after Rick wrapped up his first NBA season with the Portland Trail Blazers. In familial foreshadowing, Rick signed with the Knicks and partook in their unexpected to the 1999 NBA Finals.
Despite not registering the toddler memory, the younger Brunson was nonetheless enthused by the reveal and was more than happy to mark it as another happy memory in the family's basketball journey.
“Basketball has opened a lot of places for me and my family," Jalen said, per Terrado's report. "So to know that dad was here, it’s special to know that we can experience (something to bond) together, and we had a lot of moments like that “So it’s just something that we’ll definitely talk about in a matter of time,”
Though Ginebra failed to advance, Rick and Payne united for 58 points in their single game of Filipino action. Ironically, both would go on to serve as assistant coaches for the Knicks: Rick was hired shortly before his son inked a four-year, $104 million deal in Manhattan last summer while spent the prior two campaigns under head coach Tom Thibodeau before accepting the top job for the University of Louisville men's basketball program.
As Jalen mentioned, however, conversations about that brief tour will have to wait: after a breakout season with the Knicks, he was bestowed an invite to the senior team, one that comes as they're looking to recover from a disappointing seventh-place finish in the most recent World Cup in China four years prior. Brunson was in the starting lineup in all five of the Americans' tune-up games prior to leaving for Asia, which included a perfect 9-of-9 shooting performance in a win over defending champion Spain.
Asked about the supposed pressure placed upon him in his first senior team tour, Brunson said the concept doesn't exist.
"For me personally, there's no such thing as pressure," Brunson said (h/t New York Basketball on X). "I have figured out that as long as I'm continually working hard on my game, putting everything I can into what I do, my craft, there's no such thing as pressure."
"There are different moments, situations where the stakes are higher than the others but my confidence comes from my work ethic. So as long as I keep working hard and knowing that I'm doing something every day to get better, there's no pressure."
Team USA tips off pool play on Saturday morning when it faces New Zealand (8:40 a.m. ET, ESPN2).
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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