Rick Carlisle sees something ‘very, very special’ in Knicks’ Jalen Brunson
Jalen Brunson’s first NBA head coach believes he will be an excellent fit with the Knicks.
Rick Carlisle coached the Mavericks for 13 NBA seasons before resigning in 2021 to become the coach of the Pacers. Brunson, who was drafted in the second round by Dallas out of Villanova in 2018, was signed to a four-year contract worth $104 million in July to stabilize the Knicks’ point guard position.
“Jalen Brunson’s one of my favorite guys that I ever coached in however many years of coaching. Going back to my assistant days, it’s been over 30 years, and he’s just very, very special,” Carlisle said Friday night. “He’s a winning player that would fit with any team at any level. He figures it out. He’ll be great here. He’ll be great.
“He not only has unique abilities as a player, but really unique qualities as a high-character person, as a leader. He just does everything the right way.”
Brunson scored 17 points with four assists and zero turnovers Friday in a 131-114 preseason win over the Pacers at the Garden. He has committed one turnover in 43-plus minutes in the Knicks’ 2-0 preseason start. Their next game will be Wednesday at Indiana.
Brunson mostly served as the backup point guard behind All-Star Luka Doncic in his first three seasons under Carlisle in Dallas, though he also made 66 starts in 198 games in that span.
Under Carlisle’s replacement, Jason Kidd, last season, Brunson made 61 starts among 79 regular-season appearances. He also started all 18 of the Mavericks’ postseason games through the Western Conference finals. With Doncic missing three games in the first round against Utah with an injury, Brunson scored 27.8 points per game in Dallas’ six-game series victory.
“He’ll be different with him being the starting point guard [in New York]. In Dallas, Luka is the point guard. But last year Jalen played, and Luka played a little more off the ball last year. There was back and forth with it,” Carlisle said. “This situation, it’s pretty clear Jalen is the point guard, and in the NBA, the point guard, fair or not fair, becomes the leader on the floor. He won’t dodge that responsibility. He’ll eat it up.”
Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau and returning players, such as Julius Randle and RJ Barrett, already have lauded the 26-year-old Brunson’s leadership ability throughout training camp despite being a newcomer to the team.
“Not surprising. He’s a connector,” said Carlisle, who played 26 games for the Knicks in 1987-88. “Jalen was involved in a lot of off-the-court things that our guys were doing when I was there. It’s just part of his natural understanding of the game.
“He’s a guy that understands what winning takes. It takes a certain kind of vibe, a certain level of sacrifice. An all-in level of everything. He’s going to walk the talk. He’s going to be a guy that’s doing all the things that you need to do.”
Brunson, who finished the game Friday 9-for-9 from the free-throw line, said afterward that though the Knicks are “transitioning,” they are “getting better every day and finding ways to keep pushing each other.” He added that taking on a leadership role with a new team is a challenge he is welcoming.
“It is a difficult job, but it is something I am capable of doing,” Brunson said. “I have been a leader my entire life and I lead by example, I lead vocally, but it is not easy. I am continuing to get better as a leader, but I have strides to take in that area and continuing to move in the right direction.”