On Sunday, Jalen Brunson made his long-awaited return to the New York Knicks lineup. Exactly a month after going down with an ankle injury, Brunson came back in a 112-98 win against the Phoenix Suns, posting 15 points and six assists in 34 minutes.
Seeing him back on the court is a huge relief for the Knicks, who know how valuable he will be to their hopes of making a deep postseason run.
Since coming to New York in 2022, Brunson has flourished as one of the best scorers in the NBA. His unique blend of footwork in the post as an undersized guard and impressive handle on the perimeter have made him difficult to guard. He has also grown as a leader, becoming the figurehead for the Knicks that has led them out of mediocrity.
This was especially apparent in last year’s playoffs, as Brunson went supernova. He ended up averaging 32.4 PPG and 7.5 APG for a New York team ravaged by injuries. It was nearly enough to get to the Eastern Conference Finals, but Brunson also succumbed to injury in Game 7 of the semifinals against the Indiana Pacers, fracturing his left hand.
Despite the frustrating ending, the Knicks decided Brunson’s performance showed them enough to go all-in around him this offseason. They spent enormous amounts of assets to get Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges in the offseason, and came into this season with high expectations.
Brunson has continued to be a star, checking in at No. 7 in the NBA in scoring at 26.1 PPG and No. 8 in assists at 7.4 APG. If he plays out the remainder of the season, he will meet the NBA’s 65-game requirement for All-NBA team eligibility, for which he is certainly worthy of recognition.
Though his injury slowed his momentum, he has come back in time to ramp up his workload for the postseason.
The Knicks will certainly need him to be great once it hits. Despite an impressive regular season record of 50-28 entering Tuesday, they are a combined 0-9 against the two teams ahead of them in the Eastern Conference, Boston and Cleveland.
With one game each remaining against them, Brunson and the Knicks will be able to gauge how close they have gotten to them, and how much Herculean effort they will require from Brunson to pull off a potential upset.
