Nov 15, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) warms up with father and coach Rick Brunson before a game against the Brooklyn Nets at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Knicks' Jalen Brunson Reveals Father's Biggest Lesson

Originally posted on New York Knicks on SI
By Geoff Maggliocchetti | Last updated Apr 8, 2025 12:00 PM ET

New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson appeared to be up past his bedtime on Monday night, but his father Rick likely didn't mind.

Brunson stopped by "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" on Monday, serving as one of the guests for the network's lead-out program from the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament's championship game. Brunson, of course, is well-versed in the hardwood holiday, having won two such titles with the Villanova Wildcats.

Taking the floor in the NBA, however, was a right of passage for Brunson, the son of lasting Association veteran and current Knicks assistant coach Rick. After showcasing some photos of Jalen's generational journey with the Knicks, who hosted three of Rick's nine NBA seasons, Colbert queried the younger Brunson about the best lesson his journeyman father taught him.

"So my dad played for eight teams in nine years. He was on unguaranteed contracts every single year," Jalen Brunson recalled. "When I was a kid, I was seeing my dad work as hard as he [could], lifting, shooting, then playing at night all day during the summer. I'm seeing that as a kid and I'm not really understanding why he's doing this every single day."

"So as I get older, I'm starting to realize that this is what I want to do for a living, this is my goal, it kind of creeps back into my mind about how my dad [worked] out as hard as he can, every single day in the summertime, in the hot summer. So seeing that had more of an impact. The drills and all the stuff that we do, that's a given. But seeing him work tirelessly every single day, that had the biggest impact on me," he continued.

In addition to the Knicks, Rick Brunson's career also featured stops in Portland, Boston, Chicago, Toronto, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Houston. He was hired as a Knicks assistant coach shortly before his son signed the original four-year, $104 million contract in the summer of 2022 and was promoted to head coach Tom Thibodeau's second-in-command after Johnnie Bryant moved to take the same role in Cleveland.

The wordless lesson has paid huge dividends: Jalen Brunson has emerged as one of the top rising talents in the modern NBA and has taken on the role of the Knicks captain as well. Both Brunson are set to be vital part of the Knicks' upcoming postseason trek, which is set to begin next week at Madison Square Garden.

This article first appeared on New York Knicks on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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