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Jalen Brunson has been named the 36th captain of the New York Knicks and the first to be designated team captain by the organization since Lance Thomas during the 2018-19 season.
Brunson, 27, becomes the 18th guard in team history to be named captain and just the fourth second-round pick to receive the honor.
“The New York Knicks have a deep and storied history and today we are immensely proud to add to that lineage by naming Jalen Brunson as our captain,” said Knicks president Leon Rose.
“Jalen is a natural born leader, and I am confident he will continue to represent our organization, fans, city and his teammates with the same heart, grit and class that he has displayed each and every day since he came to New York.”
Our CAPTA11N. pic.twitter.com/vddEaqhSKE
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) August 6, 2024
Jalen Brunson Named 36th Captain in Franchise History pic.twitter.com/D94U5h43JL
— NY_KnicksPR (@NY_KnicksPR) August 6, 2024
After the Knicks acquired Mikal Bridges from the Brooklyn Nets earlier this offseason, Brunson agreed to sign a four-year, $156.5 million extension in July. He would have been eligible for a five-year, $269.1 million deal had he waited to sign until next offseason.
In his two seasons with New York, the Knicks have a record of 97-67 (.591), the most wins in consecutive seasons for the Knicks since the 1999-00 and 2000-01 seasons (98 wins).
Brunson has also led the Knicks to the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs in both his seasons after coming from Dallas. Last season, he earned his first All-Star selection and finished fifth in voting for the NBA MVP award.
New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson scored or assisted on a franchise-record 3,481 points last season
In 77 games (all starts) of the 2023-24 season, Brunson averaged career highs of 28.7 points, 6.7 assists, and 35.4 minutes per game while shooting 47.9% from the field, 40.1% from 3-point range, and a career-best 84.7% at the free throw line.
His player efficiency rating (23.4), assist percentage (33.5%), usage percentage (32.5%), and win shares (11.2) were all career highs. He scored or assisted on a franchise-record 3,481 points as well.
In New York’s 139-122 victory against the Phoenix Suns on Dec. 15, the guard notched a then-career-high 50 points on 17-of-23 (73.9%) shooting from the floor and nine 3-pointers.
Julius Randle to Jalen Brunson on IG: “Congrats cap well deserved!!” pic.twitter.com/PenEhg6AWr
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) August 6, 2024
Then in the Knicks’ 130-126 overtime loss to the San Antonio Spurs on March 29, he scored a career-high 61 points. It was one point shy of matching Carmelo Anthony’s franchise record of 62 points on Jan. 24, 2014. Bernard King fell to third with his 60-point game in 1984.
Jalen Brunson also recorded 11 40-point games in the regular season. During the 2024 NBA Playoffs, he became the first Knicks player with 40 points and five assists in four straight postseason games, per ESPN Stats & Information.
Moreover, Brunson became the first NBA player since Michael Jordan (182 points in 1993) to score at least 170 points over a four-game span in a single postseason.
Brunson scored a playoff career-high 47 points in Game 4 of the Knicks’ first-round series against the Philadelphia 76ers. The fifth-year veteran then put up 40 points in Game 5 and 41 in Game 6.
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