{"id":1466,"date":"2026-06-15T15:40:19","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T15:40:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=1466"},"modified":"2026-06-15T15:40:19","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T15:40:19","slug":"knicks-superstar-jalen-brunson-just-led-new-york-to-an-nba-title-and-says-his-basketball-legend-dad-got-him-ready-for-the-moment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=1466","title":{"rendered":"Knicks superstar Jalen Brunson just led New York to an NBA title\u2014and says his basketball legend dad got him ready for the moment"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\u201cWhen the opportunity came about to step into roles that were asked of me, I was ready for it,\u201d Brunson told Men\u2019s Journal<\/em> a few months ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read more Tyra Banks sues Netflix for defamation over \u2018Next Top Model\u2019 documentary editing<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all about just staying ready. And I think watching my dad growing up and seeing how hard he worked to be in the position he was, it only pushed me to work harder once I got the opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The 29-year-old is carving out his own Knicks legacy, following in his father\u2019s footsteps.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rick Brunson was also a Knicks standout; Jalen watched his dad take the court when New York reached the NBA Finals in 1999, the last time the team made the cut before 2026. He also played for the Chicago Bulls and Portland Trail Blazers across his nine-season career in the basketball league, and by 2007, he decided to hang up his jersey and go into coaching full-time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He returned to the Knicks as an assistant coach in 2022\u2014the same year that his son joined the team.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now, the newest Knicks legend in the Brunson family is helping chart a new destiny for the team. After a turbulent five decades, the iconic NYC franchise finally secured a long-awaited win; in game five of the 2026 NBA finals, the Knicks beat out the Spurs 94-10 after overcoming a double-digit deficit, with Brunson scoring 45 points in the nail-biting showdown that shook the city.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Brunson was crowned the NBA Finals MVP after carrying the offense to victory\u2014and for the first time since 1973, the Knicks hoisted the Larry O\u2019Brien Championship Trophy in the air.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Brunson\u2019s rise from 33rd NBA draft pick to 2026 Finals MVP<\/h2>\n

Just as the Knicks overcame a five-decade drought and several harrowing comebacks in the NBA finals this year, Brunson has also pushed through adversity in his athletic career.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read more Wind industry accuses Pentagon of stealth $47 billion freeze on clean energy in 21 states<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

In 2018, when the New Jersey-born hooper was first recruited to join the NBA league, he wasn\u2019t most teams\u2019 first choice\u2014in fact, he was the 33rd player picked in the second round of the 60-person draft.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

However, in the years since, he\u2019s continuously pushed and proved himself; during his four-season stint at the Dallas Mavericks, Brunson steadily became one of the league\u2019s best point guards, averaging about 16 points a game. And his drive hasn\u2019t faltered since; now, Brunson is heralded for saving the struggling franchise after Saturday\u2019s victory.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI would say my mindset truly hasn\u2019t changed,\u201d Brunson told Men\u2019s Journal<\/em>. \u201cI continue to work hard every single step of the way from high school to college to here, and I don\u2019t think my work ethic has really changed. I\u2019m really proud of that. Even if I was in different roles at different stages of my career, my work ethic was always to try to be the best player I could be.\u201d<\/p>\n

And Brunson\u2019s hard work has paid off.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Thousands of New Yorkers clad in orange and blue flooded the streets to celebrate the win, turning the city into a giant block party, scaling street signs and scaffolding. And later this week, shredded paper will rain down on the basketball champions for the NYC ticker-tape parade celebrating the win\u2014a historic tradition honoring monumental moments like the Yankees\u2019 1961 World Series win and Nelson Mandela\u2019s release from prison\u2014which will be a first for the Knicks.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But even when the buzz mellows in the weeks following the NBA finals, Brunson will never take his foot off the gas.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cWhen you think people aren\u2019t watching, people are watching, people are always watching,\u201d the basketball superstar added. \u201cAnd it\u2019s really just a testament to how hard you\u2019re going to work.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you going to take the time when no one\u2019s watching, when it\u2019s the dog days of the season, or when it\u2019s the beginning of summer? It\u2019s all about what you\u2019re going to do to be the best where you can be.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Pentagon\u2019s third UFO release has fish-scaled potatoes and red orbs. Still no aliens<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NBA Finals MVP Jalen Brunson led the Knicks to victory, scoring nearly half the points in the game. And he credited his drive to his father, Rick Brunson.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1465,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1466","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-careers"],"yoast_head":"\nKnicks superstar Jalen Brunson just led New York to an NBA title\u2014and says his basketball legend dad got him ready for the moment - Cross Country Moving Team<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=1466\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Knicks superstar Jalen Brunson just led New York to an NBA title\u2014and says his basketball legend dad got him ready for the moment - Cross Country Moving Team\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"NBA Finals MVP Jalen Brunson led the Knicks to victory, scoring nearly half the points in the game. And he credited his drive to his father, Rick Brunson.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=1466\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Cross Country Moving Team\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-15T15:40:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=1466#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=1466\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1b8121bfb9a1c55d1fff3fca675fceaa\"},\"headline\":\"Knicks superstar Jalen Brunson just led New York to an NBA title\u2014and says his basketball legend dad got him ready for the moment\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-15T15:40:19+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=1466\"},\"wordCount\":725,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=1466#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/f3db474bbf81316abbd707aa9ad038f9.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Careers\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=1466#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=1466\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=1466\",\"name\":\"Knicks superstar Jalen Brunson just led New York to an NBA title\u2014and says his basketball legend dad got him ready for the moment - Cross Country Moving Team\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=1466#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=1466#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/f3db474bbf81316abbd707aa9ad038f9.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-15T15:40:19+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1b8121bfb9a1c55d1fff3fca675fceaa\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=1466#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=1466\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=1466#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/f3db474bbf81316abbd707aa9ad038f9.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/f3db474bbf81316abbd707aa9ad038f9.webp\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":600},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=1466#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Knicks superstar Jalen Brunson just led New York to an NBA title\u2014and says his basketball legend dad got him ready for the moment\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Cross Country Moving Team\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1b8121bfb9a1c55d1fff3fca675fceaa\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Knicks superstar Jalen Brunson just led New York to an NBA title\u2014and says his basketball legend dad got him ready for the moment - Cross Country Moving Team","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=1466","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Knicks superstar Jalen Brunson just led New York to an NBA title\u2014and says his basketball legend dad got him ready for the moment - Cross Country Moving Team","og_description":"NBA Finals MVP Jalen Brunson led the Knicks to victory, scoring nearly half the points in the game. And he credited his drive to his father, Rick Brunson.","og_url":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=1466","og_site_name":"Cross Country Moving Team","article_published_time":"2026-06-15T15:40:19+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=1466#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=1466"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1b8121bfb9a1c55d1fff3fca675fceaa"},"headline":"Knicks superstar Jalen Brunson just led New York to an NBA title\u2014and says his basketball legend dad got him ready for the moment","datePublished":"2026-06-15T15:40:19+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=1466"},"wordCount":725,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=1466#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/f3db474bbf81316abbd707aa9ad038f9.webp","articleSection":["Careers"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=1466#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=1466","url":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=1466","name":"Knicks superstar Jalen Brunson just led New York to an NBA title\u2014and says his basketball legend dad got him ready for the moment - Cross Country Moving Team","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=1466#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=1466#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/f3db474bbf81316abbd707aa9ad038f9.webp","datePublished":"2026-06-15T15:40:19+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1b8121bfb9a1c55d1fff3fca675fceaa"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=1466#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=1466"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=1466#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/f3db474bbf81316abbd707aa9ad038f9.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/f3db474bbf81316abbd707aa9ad038f9.webp","width":1200,"height":600},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=1466#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Knicks superstar Jalen Brunson just led New York to an NBA title\u2014and says his basketball legend dad got him ready for the moment"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/","name":"Cross Country Moving Team","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1b8121bfb9a1c55d1fff3fca675fceaa","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com"],"url":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1466","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1466"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1466\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1465"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1466"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1466"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1466"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}