Knicks' Jalen Brunson Confirms Involvement in 'One of the Worst' Michael Jordan Stories
Jalen Brunson's second season with the New York Knicks has been so impressive that now he's apparently capable of taking down one of the franchise's most notorious public enemies: Michael Jordan.
Appearing on Friday's edition of NBC's "The Tonight Show," Brunson confirmed his involvement in "one of the worst" stories involving Jordan, commonly accepted as the greatest basketball player to take to the hardwood.
At the height of his popularity in the 1990s and early 2000s, everyone in America yearned for a Jordan memento ... everyone, that is, except Brunson.
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As the son of NBA journeyman Rick (now a Knicks assistant coach), Brunson had unique access to Jordan, who set to battle the elder during his two-year tenure with the Washington Wizards (2001-03). Taking his frequent locker room entries for granted, young Jalen, clad in a Jordan jersey, was granted an opportunity to have Jordan sign the uniform ... only to turn it down so as to save the threads' integrity.
"I was wearing Michael Jordan's jersey, even though my dad was on the other team," Brunson recalled, drawing laughs from host Jimmy Fallon and his studio audience. "(Jordan) said, hey, you've got my jersey on want me to sign it and I was like 'nah, you'll mess it up.'"
"The whole locker room was going crazy laughing, so I'm just like it's whatever now, I'm good."
Brunson's rejection drew further laughs from the audience and a double facepalm from Fallon, who pleaded with Jordan to send a jersey to the metropolitan point guard.
The story previously surfaced on ESPN's "NBA Today" in September, where longtime reporter Ohm Youngmisuk recalled witnessing the incident, which likely occurred during the 2002-03 season. Brunson recalled his father playing for the Los Angeles Clippers at the time, but Jordan had announced his third and final retirement by the time Rick moved out west in 2004-05.
While a signed Jordan jersey would likely net a major pricetag these days, Brunson hardly needs it: the point guard is busy living up to and exceeding every expectation a $104 million contract from the Knicks placed upon him, currently averaging career-bests in scoring (27.2 points per game) and assists (6.5).
His Friday visit to Rockefeller Center was bestowed shortly after he was named to his first NBA All-Star team, as he will rep the Knicks at next weekend's festivities in Indianapolis. Time will tell if he scores another audience with His Airness.
