Stepping up to an historic level once again, Jalen Brunson led the New York Knicks to the franchise’s first NBA championship in 53 years.
Brunson saved his best for last, delivering 45 points as the Knicks beat the Spurs 94-90 in Game 5 in San Antonio on Saturday night to clinch the title.
Jalen Brunson became a legend with his performance to clinch the Knicks’ NBA championship
No stranger to big games, Brunson now has ownership of one of the biggest in NBA history. He tied Michael Jordan for the most points in a championship-clinching game.
Brunson also set a new record for the most ever scored by a Knicks player in an NBA Finals game, becoming the first to ever even reach 40 on the NBA’s grandest stage.
Brunson was named the Finals MVP
Named the NBA Finals MVP, Brunson, who struggled some early in the series, made sure his team closed out the Spurs by putting up 16 of his team’s first 37 points. He recorded his two highest Finals totals in the last two games, scoring 36 in 44 minutes during the Knicks’ 29-point comeback in Game 4.
— NBA (@NBA) June 14, 2026
Brunson averaged 32.6 points per game in the NBA Finals and finished the postseason by scoring at least 30 points nine times. However, he only posted 40-plus once, the one that counted the most and handed the Knicks the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
Brunson has secured his place as a future Hall of Famer
And based on his overall NBA career — he’s averaged 19.2 points, 5.3 assists and 3.2 rebounds through eight seasons — his clutch playoff performances and his two college national titles at Villanova, Brunson has already secured his place as a future member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
