The cameras were rolling, the NBA Finals MVP trophy was in his hands and, here, finally, the world would get to hear what Jalen Brunson thinks. Even in a fishbowl like New York, Brunson has managed to maintain an air of mystery. Some of it is intentional. In interviews Brunson chooses his words carefully, revealing little. “Methodical and intentional,” is how Brunson’s mother, Sandra, once described her son’s Belichickian approach to interviews. Some of it is not. In the final seconds of the Eastern Conference finals–clinching win in Cleveland, cameras panned to a Knicks roster in full celebration … with an expressionless Brunson planted on the bench behind them. “I was icing my knees,” explained Brunson. “I didn’t even want to get up.” Yet here, in the aftermath of New York’s 94–40 title-clinching win, after delivering a 45-point masterpiece, at the end of the Knicks’ 53-year championship drought, Brunson would finally open up. “I got no words,” he said. “It’s everything I ever dreamed of.”Some of the greatest athletes in sports history have worn New York uniforms. Names like Namath, Messier and Jeter. Taylor, Frazier and Rivera. Now, Brunson. Only three players—Bob Pettit, Michael Jordan and Giannis Antetokounmpo—had scored 45 points or more in a Finals closeout game. Brunson made it four. He kept New York in it in the first half, scoring 16 of the Knicks’ 37 points. He had 14 points in the third quarter. He had 15 in the fourth. San Antonio threw everything at Brunson. Size, length, athleticism. Nothing worked. “Unreal,” said Mitchell Robinson. “Literally, unreal.”No one, even the truest of Brunson believers, would have told you this was possible in 2022, when the Knicks poached Brunson from Dallas. The four-year, $104 million deal Brunson signed was looked at skeptically. Surely the Knicks overpaid for a 6'2" guard who still struggled with shot creation. Leon Rose, the Knicks team president, had a long history with Brunson. As an agent Rose represented Brunson’s father, Rick. Rose had known Jalen since he was a toddler. That relationship had to cloud his decision.Only it didn’t. Brunson averaged 24.0 points in his first season in New York. He was an All-Star in his second. He was the NBA’s Clutch Player of the Year last season and has earned a spot on an All-NBA team in each of the last three. He steered the Knicks to the second round of the playoffs in his first two seasons and a conference finals in the last one. And now … this. Brunson averaged 32.6 points in the Finals. He shot 38.9% from three. He scored at least 12 points in the fourth quarter of three of the five games in the series and on Saturday put on a performance that will be remembered for a generation. At his postgame news conference, coach Mike Brown summed up Brunson succinctly. Said Brown, “He is him.”Jalen Brunson “is him,” according to coach Mike Brown. He is also now an NBA champion. | Erick W. Rasco/Sports IllustratedBrown can remember when he noticed Brunson. Like, exactly. In 2022, Brown was an assistant coach in Golden State. In the conference finals, the Warriors played Dallas. As defensive coordinator, Brown was responsible for scheming ways to slow the Mavericks’ offense. Luka Dončić was Dallas’s top offensive option. “But my concern wasn’t Luka,” said Brown. “My concern was Jalen.”Brown recalls the frustration at being unable to slow Brunson down. “I remember [the] first couple times we played against them, we put a guard on him,” said Brown. “I was amazed. Because when you look at him, you’re like, O.K., he’s not the biggest guy, not the most athletic guy, not the quickest guy. O.K., you can put a guy 6'4", 6'5" guy on him, you’ll be O.K.“We put guys 6'6", 6'7" on him. He got to his spot methodically. He put his back shoulder in them, he still scored. We put Draymond Green on Jalen. That’s how concerned we were. Because we needed a bigger, stronger, tougher guy to try to do it or to try to slow him down at that time.”In New York, Brunson’s teammates marvel at his ability to create his shot. Karl-Anthony Towns cites his footwork, an ability that falls somewhere between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Mikhail Baryshnikov. That footwork, Towns says, enables Brunson to effortlessly maneuver between spots in the paint. Said Towns, “Then when he finally gets into the paint he uses physicality to create space, to get his floater off or to get to a scoop layup.”His size has never been a concern for Jalen Brunson, and now the NBA world can see his evolution. | Erick W. Rasco/Sports IllustratedOG Anunoby points to the deep bag of shots Brunson can go to. “He uses a lot of counters,” said Anunoby. “He’s relentless. Doesn’t matter if he is missing shots or making shots, he’s always the same way, always composed and poised and always aggressive.”To Brown, the player he saw in 2022 has continued to evolve. “Now it’s different,” said Brown. “If you put a power forward on him, he’s in a ball screen, out in transition, he can score from all three levels. He does it with a patience that you embrace as a coach because it’s not hurried and frantic all the time. It always seems like he’s in control, which helps you as a coach be in control, which helps his teammates be in control.”To Brunson, it simply comes down to the work. When the buzzer sounded on Saturday, Brunson shook hands with Spurs coach Mitch Johnson. When he turned around, Rick was there waiting. Brunson routinely shrugs off questions about pressure. This wasn’t pressure. Playing for eight NBA teams in nine seasons, as Rick did, that was pressure. Short-term contracts, non-guaranteed contracts, never knowing if you would stick for more than a year. He watched his dad doing three-a-days in the summers, trying to squeeze just a little bit more out of his career.“I’m very fortunate to be in the position I am, and I definitely think I worked pretty hard,” said Brunson. “And so when the opportunity presented itself like it did today, I just trust my work. And if we win, we win. If we don’t, we learn, we move forward. But I’m just never afraid to fail.”Jalen Brunson celebrates with his Knicks teammates after they won the 2026 NBA title. | Geoff Burke-Imagn ImagesAnd he didn’t. It’s rarified air Brunson entered on Saturday. The greatest Knick of all time? He’s in the conversation. The greatest small guard in NBA history? He joins a very short list. Most unlikely superstar? Let the debate rage. Not that Brunson is interested in it. As he wrapped up his news conference, Brunson was asked about his journey, from second-round pick to sixth man, from starter to superstar, and what it all means. It was another opportunity for Brunson to open up. “It hasn’t sunk in but I honestly,” Brunson said, his voice trailing off. “I honestly don’t know right now. I don’t know.”More NBA Finals From Sports IllustratedListen to SI’s NBA podcast, Open Floor, below or on Apple and Spotify. Watch the show on SI’s YouTube channel.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow