Knicks Star Inspired By Eagles Super Bowl Win

The New York Knicks' Jalen is taking a little inspiration from ... Jalen.

It's set to be a good week for the Knicks' captain and point guard: he's set to partake in Saturday's 3-Point Contest in San Francisco before appearing in the All-Star Game's starting lineup. The exhibition will come a week after Brunson basked in the glory of Super Bowl LIX, the NFL's 2024-25 season finale which saw his beloved Philadelphia Eagles decimate the Kansas City Chiefs by a 40-22 final in New Orleans.

Sunday was no doubt a brutal day for Knicks fans, particularly those who also root for the New York Giants, one of the Eagles' biggest rivals. They may, however, be able to cope with it if it leads to a long-awaited title for their beloved Knicks. For his part, Brunson plans to at least partly use it for that purpose.

Feb 8, 2025; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) looks to drive to the basket in the first quarter against the Boston Celtics at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

“Absolutely (I’m inspired)," Brunson said this week, per Stefan Bondy of the New York Post. "Obviously, all the criticism about [Eagles quarterback] Jalen Hurts and him not being a champ ... he’s said the whole time that he doesn’t care about anything individual. He just wants to win. So I commend him for that."

The Eagles' decimation of the two-time defending champion Chiefs was the culmination of a redemptive season in The City of Brotherly Love. Under the watch of Hurts and Sirianni, the Eagles endured a first-round exit in last year's postseason after a run to Super Bowl LVII.

Some questioned the idea of entrusting the franchise's future in Hurts and Sirianni after the Eagles split their first four games of the year but they won all but one of their final 13 games, including three postseason showings that included a blowout triumph over Josh Hart's beloved Washington Commanders in the NFC Championship Game.

"A lot of respect for (Eagles head coach Nick) Sirianni (because) a lot of people were talking about him early in the year, saying he wasn’t the right man for the job ... he pushes through and helps his team win. So I was really excited for all of them.”

The Eagles have won two Super Bowls in the past eight years after going fruitless in the first 51 editions. New York is hoping to end a similar drought on the hardwood, as its last NBA championship came in 1973.

Brunson and the Knicks have two games left before the weekend's All-Star break, facing the Indiana Pacers on the road on Tuesday (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG/TNT) before hosting the Atlanta Hawks the following night.

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