Top Five Things You Did Not Know About NBA Star Jalen Brunson
Jalen Brunson currently plays for the New York Knicks in the NBA. He won two national championships while playing collegiate basketball for Villanova University, where he was named the National Player of the Year as a junior. In addition to setting the USA Basketball single-game assist record for the FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship, Brunson owns the IHSA playoff single-game and IHSA Class 4A championship game scoring marks.
They chose Jalen Brunson for the Big East All-Freshman Team after the season and won the Big East Conference Preseason Freshman of the Year award for the 2015–16 academic year. With the 33rd overall pick on June 21, 2018, the Dallas Mavericks selected Brunson. He inked a contract with the New York Knicks on July 12, 2022.
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Unknown facts about Jalen Brunson:
Fan of Steve Nash
Growing up, Jalen Brunson looked up to former Mavs and Suns point guard Steve Nash. The fact that Brunson wears No. 13 with the Mavericks—former Nash’s number—is definitely no accident.
Jalen Brunson (#13) & Steve Nash (#13 & Jalen's favorite player) vs Utah in the playoffs #MFFL pic.twitter.com/Pmw5cyTiSe
— Panda Hank (@pandahank41) April 20, 2022
“One of my favorite players of all time is Steve Nash, for sure,” Brunson said via the Washington Post.
2X NCAA Champion
One of Villanova’s all-time greats is Jalen Brunson. In both 2016 and 2018, he assisted the Wildcats in winning the national title. The Wildcats won both championships in Texas, Houston, and San Antonio, respectively.
Happy 26th Birthday To Knicks PG Jalen Brunson 🎉
*2× NCAA champion (2016, 2018)
*National college player of the year (2018)
*Consensus first-team All-American (2018) pic.twitter.com/4wenN7W8TQ— TimeoutSPORTS__ (@TimeoutSPORTS3) August 31, 2022
Son of NBA star
His relationship with his father, Rick Brunson, influenced Brunson’s career path. Throughout his NBA career, Rick Brunson played for the Trail Blazers, Clippers, Knicks, Bulls, Rockets, Celtics, and SuperSonics.
Threw the first pitch at a Chicago Cubs game
After Villanova won the 2016 and 2018 championships, Jalen Brunson was given the privilege of throwing out the first pitch at a Chicago Cubs game.
Let's go to the tape – @jalenbrunson1 throwing out 1st pitch @WrigleyBlog !! pic.twitter.com/zr8bbz80Xq
— Jay Wright (@CoachJayWright) September 19, 2016
Impressed Mavericks with first interview
According to Rick Carlisle, the Mavericks interviewed Jalen Brunson at the Chicago pre-draft camp for longer than the authorized 30 minutes. Carlisle praised Brunson’s remarkable basketball understanding.
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