Knicks vs. Spurs NBA Finals: It all started with Jalen Brunson, and it all ended with him as well — as NBA champion

SAN ANTONIO — As Jalen Brunson wended his way through the bowels of Frost Bank Center in the wee hours of Sunday morning, he did so laden with gold. Everywhere he went — from interview to interview, from embrace to embrace, from moment to celebratory moment — the New York Knicks captain toted the Larry O’Brien Championship trophy and the Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP trophy that he’d just won.

Those suckers — especially the Larry O’B — are pretty damn big. They didn’t seem too heavy, though, in arms that have been carrying a hell of a lot more than that: the weight of expectations, the fate of a franchise, the hopes and dreams of millions upon millions of New Yorkers.

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When Brunson finally made his way into the visitors’ interview room, and set his newly won trophies down on the podium, he wondered aloud about setting something else down, too.

“The question is,” Brunson asked the assembled media, “do I be myself? Or do I talk my s***?”

When presented with the opportunity to do so, though — to describe how he was feeling, to discuss everything that led him to this point, all the slights and slings and arrows that fueled him and brought him to the top of the mountain — Brunson made the simple read, the easy play.

“Words can’t describe it,” Brunson said. “But I’ll say: I put a lot of time and effort into trying to be the best player I can be to try and help a team win. Just really thankful to have the organization, the coaching staff, my teammates, to have my back every single day.”

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That Brunson even considered choosing violence, though, showed just how much this remarkable moment — the overwhelming emotion he’d felt on the court after the game, the thrill of reaching the pinnacle of his profession — had thawed his typically icy exterior. The king of the anodyne quote, forever preaching “0-0 mindset” and “one possession at a time” and all that, had finally reached the point where there were no more games to prepare for, no more possessions to lock in for — nothing to do but bask in the glow of the achievement he’d worked for his entire…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/knicks-vs-spurs-nba-finals-it-all-started-with-jalen-brunson-and-it-all-ended-with-him-as-well–as-nba-champion-085511747.html

Author : Dan Devine

Publish date : 2026-06-14 08:55:00

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