Jalen Brunson has been named the 36th captain of the New York Knicks and the first to be named team captain by the organization since Lance Thomas for the 2018-19 season.
Brunson, 27, becomes the 18th guard in team history to be named a 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 very proud to add to that list by naming Jalen Brunson as our captain,” said Knicks president Leon Rose.
“Jalen is a natural-born leader, and I am confident that he will continue to represent our organization, the fans, the city and the players he works with with the same heart, integrity and class that he has shown every day since arriving in New York.”
Our CAPTA11N. pic.twitter.com/vddEaqhSKE
– NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) August 6, 2024
Jalen Brunson Named the 36th Captain in Franchise History pic.twitter.com/D94U5h43JL
— NY_KnicksPR (@NY_KnicksPR) August 6, 2024
After the Knicks acquired Michael 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 contract if he had waited to sign until next season.
In his two seasons with New York, the Knicks have a record of 97-67 (.591), the most wins in consecutive seasons by the Knicks since the 1999-00 and 2000-01 seasons (98 wins).
Brunson also led the Knicks to the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs in both of his seasons after leaving 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 28.7 career points, 6.7 assists, and 35.4 minutes per game while shooting 47.9% from the field, 40.1% from three-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.
In New York's 139-122 victory against the Phoenix Suns on Dec. 15, the guard scored a then-high 50 points on 17-of-23 shooting (73.9%) from the floor and nine 3-pointers.
Julius Randle to Jalen Brunson on IG: “Congratulations he deserves the hat!!” 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 game-high 61 points. He was one point shy of matching Carmelo Anthony's record of 62 points on Jan. 24, 2014. Bernard King dropped 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.
In addition, Brunson became the first NBA player since Michael Jordan (182 points in 1993) to score at least 170 points in four games in one season.
Brunson scored a playoff-high 47 points in Game 4 of the Knicks' first-round series against the Philadelphia 76ers. The veteran player who finished the fifth year then put up 40 points in Game 5 and 41 in Game 6.
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