Jalen Marquis Brunson born August 31, 1996 is an American professional basketball player for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was drafted with the 33rd overall selection of the 2018 NBA draft by the Dallas Mavericks and played his first four seasons in the NBA with them. He played college basketball for Villanova University, where he was the National Player of the Year as a junior and won two national championships.Brunson participated in the 2015 McDonald’s All-American Boys Game as well as the 2015 Jordan Brand Classic and represented the Team USA in the Nike Hoop Summit. He led Stevenson to the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Class 4A championship. Following the season, he won Illinois Mr. Basketball. Brunson holds the IHSA playoff single-game and the IHSA Class 4A championship game scoring records and set the USA Basketball single-game assist record for the FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship. He earned the MVP of the 2015 FIBA Under-19 World Cup for the gold medal-winning Team USA.
Jalen Brunson Facts
Born: August 31, 1996 (age 27)New Brunswick, New Jersey, U.S.
Listed height :6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight: 190 lb (86 kg)
High School Stevenson :(Lincolnshire, Illinois)
College Villanova: (2015–2018)
NBA draft 2018: 2nd round, 33rd overall pick
awards:National college player of the year (2018)Consensus first-team All-American (2018)
Jalen Brunson Early life
Born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, Brunson was raised in southern New Jersey until sixth grade. He is the son of Rick and Sandra Brunson. He has a sister Erica (born c. 2001)His parents met at Temple University where Rick played for the basketball team.Rick went on to spend nine seasons in the NBA. The family first settled in Cherry Hill, New Jersey but moved seven times before settling in Lincolnshire, Illinois in 2010 where Jalen played his high school career for Stevenson High School. As a youth, he spent time in NBA locker rooms such as when his father played for the Knicks where his future head coach Tom Thibodeau was serving as an assistant coach.
Jalen Brunson High school career
As a freshman, Brunson was an All–Lake County honorable mention selection in 2012,as Stevenson finished the season with a 17–11 record.uring his sophomore season, Stevenson started the season 10–4 before going on a 19-game winning streak.That year, Brunson led Stevenson to the March 16, 2013, IHSA Class 4A championship game against Jabari Parker and Kendrick Nunn’s three-time defending state champion Simeon Career Academy, where he got the Simeon backcourt in foul trouble in the first half before being held to one point in the second half of a 58–40 loss. Stevenson finished the season 29–5.[8] Following the season, the Associated Press named him to the Class 4A All-state second team as the only sophomore on the first or second team.[9] Brunson averaged 21.5 points that season
Brunson in the 2014 IHSA Class 4A consolation game
On February 21, 2014, junior Brunson scored 57 points in a double overtime victory over Lake Forest High School. The performance gave him both the school single-game and career scoring records.On March 21, Brunson set the IHSA playoff single game scoring record against the Jahlil Okafor–led Whitney Young High School by scoring 56 points in a 75–68 state playoff semi-final loss. In the game, still images of a movement by Brunson appeared to be an obscene gesture, but video of the gesture were deemed to be inconclusive and an initial suspension for the subsequent consolation game was overturnedBrunson averaged 26.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 2.9 steals for a Stevenson team that finished the season with a 32–2 record. Two members of his high school team were National Football League athletes’ offspring: Matt Morrissey and Cameron Green. Brunson was named Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of Illinois as a junior.Following the season, Associated Press named him as the only non-senior on the Class 4A All-state first team that also included Okafor, Cliff Alexander, Tyler Ulis and Sean O’Mara He finished fourth in the 2014 Illinois Mr. Basketball voting.n April 2014, Illinois, Purdue, Kansas and Villanova had in-home visitsOn May 3, 2014, he announced the eight schools that he was considering playing college basketball for: UConn, Michigan State, Illinois, Kansas, Purdue, Villanova, Michigan and Temple. That summer he was the number one rated point guard according to ESPN,although the class had a notable shortage of elite pure point guardsOn June 25—the day after Jalen won a gold medal at the 2014 FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship—Rick Brunson received an offer as an on-bench assistant coach from Temple. The Temple offer fell through when Rick Brunson was arrested on various charges on July 25, and Temple fell out of the running for Jalen’s services.Brunson participated in the July 9–11 LeBron James Skills AcademyOn August 5, he announced official visits to Illinois on August 29–31, Villanova on September 4–6 and then Temple from September 11–13 and on August 9, he announced official visits to Michigan State from September 19–21 and Purdue on September 26–28.
On September 8, Brunson announced that he would be curtailing his recruitment and making his decision between Illinois and Villanova on September 10.[28] On that date, Brunson committed to Villanova. At the time of his decision, he was ranked as the number one point guard in the national class of 2015 by Scout.com.[24] Stevenson was a preseason top-10 team in the MaxPreps national high school rankings lot was expected of Brunson’s team after losing to teams led by Parker and Okafor in the IHSA tournament final four in 2013 and 2014 even though no team from Lake County has ever won a state basketball championship.[The team rattled off 11 straight victories to start the season before losing 88–81 to Chaminade Prep and its star Jayson Tatum in the Cancer Research Classic in Wheeling, WV, despite 48 points from Brunson. On January 17, Brunson and Stevenson faced Derryck Thornton, Jr. and Findlay Prep at the Hoophall Classic. At the time, Brunson was the number 3 ranked point guard in the class of 2015 and Thornton was the number 2 ranked point guard in the class of 2016 for the number 1 team in the country according to USA Today.Findlay, who was led by Arizona signee Allonzo Trier’s 27 points, held Brunson to 26 in the second loss of the season for Stevenson, who had been 15–1. On January 28, he was named to the 2015 McDonald’s All-American Boys Game roster,becoming the second player from Lake County to earn such recognition. On February 2, he was named to the 11-man Team USA for the Nike Hoop Summit.On February 21, Stevenson lost to Simeon as Brunson posted 25 points on 9–24 shooting, ending a 22-game in-state streak in a game that featured the top two teams in the state. The Simeon frontline featured three Big Ten Conference signees: D. J. Williams (Illinois), Ed Morrow (Nebraska) and Isaiah Moss (Iowa). On March 5, he was named to the Jordan Brand Classic roster
Jalen Brunson On March 17, Brunson helped Stevenson qualify for a third consecutive appearance in the IHSA final four with a victory over Riverside Brookfield Township High School. In the game, Brunson became the Lake County career scoring record holder. On March 19, Brunson received the highest vote total for the Illinois Class 4A Associated Press All-state team. On March 20, he repeated as Illinois Gatorade Player of the Year. Brunson led Stevenson to the IHSA final four for a third consecutive time, but he led the team to the first state championship by a Lake county school with an IHSA Class 4A title-game record 30 points in a 57–40 victory over Normal Community High School. Brunson was 9-for-15 from the field and 9-for-9 from the free throw line. 2015 was Lake county’s ninth consecutive year with a team reaching the IHSA final four; Stevenson became the first school in the large school division and the third school overall to win IHSA football and basketball state championships in the same year. The win got him out of the shadow of IHSA final four losses to Parker- and Okafor-led teams. Following the season, he won Illinois Mr. Basketball with 552 points and 99 of the 132 first place votes, ahead of fellow Jordan Brand All-American selection Charles Matthews, who had 157 points. Brunson finished his senior season with averages of 23.3 points, 5.2 assists, and 4.7 rebounds per game and with shooting percentages of 38% on three-point shots and 83% on free throws At the March 30 POWERADE Jam Fest associated with the McDonald’s All-American game, Brunson won the skills competition over finalists Carlton Bragg and Isaiah Briscoe and was a finalist for the three-point shooting contest Brunson was a first-team Parade All-American,as well as a third-team USA Today All-USA high school basketball team selection.In the April 11 Nike Hoops Summit, Brunson had 12 points and seven assists in a 103–101 loss.In the April 17 Jordan Brand Classic, Brunson had a game-high three steals.He finished his high school career ranked No. 16 in the ESPN 100 and as the #2-point guard behind Isaiah Briscoe.
Jalen Brunson College career
Brunson was a selection to the 20-man Bob Cousy Award preseason watchlist. He was also selected as the 2015–16 Big East Conference Preseason Freshman of the Year by the conference coaches although Henry Ellenson was the only freshman selected to the 2015–16 Preseason All-Big East First or Second Team. Brunson’s 2015–16 Wildcats were the unanimous coaches preseason selection to win the conference.n preseason top 100 player rankings Brunson was ranked 46 by ESPN and 41 by NBC Sports. During the preseason, Mike Rutherford of SB Nation selected Brunson as one of its 10 most important college basketball players for 2015–16. He made the initial 50-man John R. Wooden Award watch list on November 17.On December 2, Brunson earned recognition on the 18-man Wayman Tisdale Award watchlist.
Brunson opened the season in the starting lineup with 12 points and 4 assists against the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights on November 13.On November 26 in the semi-finals of the NIT Season Tip-Off against Stanford, Brunson posted 18 points.On December 28, he posted a then career-high 22 points against Penn] The 22-point effort was part of a 3–0 week for Villanova in which Brunson averaged 15.3 points and earned Big East Freshman of the Week. On February 8,Jalen Brunson the 2015–16 Wildcats became the first Villanova Wildcats men’s basketball team to reach number one in the AP Poll by climbing to the top of the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men’s basketball rankings. Following the 2015–16 Big East season, he was a unanimous Big East All-Freshman Team selection. In the 2016 NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament regional final against Kansas Brunson made the final two free throws that gave the Wildcats a two-possession lead with 3.5 seconds leftThe 2015–16 Wildcats won the championship game of the tournament by defeating the North Carolina Tar Heels 77–74, with Brunson as a starter.
Sophomore season
Brunson for the 2016–17 Villanova Wildcats
Brunson was a selection to the 20-man Bob Cousy Award preseason watchlist again as a sophomore.He was a preseason All-Big East honorable mention selection. On December 5, the 2016–17 Wildcats ascended into the top position in the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men’s basketball rankings. The following night, Brunson posted a then career-high 26 points in a Philadelphia Big 5 win over La Salle After helping guide Villanova to a victory in its 2016–17 Big East season opener against DePaul on December 28,Brunson scored a career high 27 points in an 80–70 December 31 win over No. 10 Creighton to propel No. 1 Villanova to a 14–0 record and 2–0 in conference play. These two performances earned Brunson Big East player of the week recognition on January 2.Brunson was named to the February 9 Naismith Award Top 30 watch list.[89] On February 18, against Seton Hall, Brunson posted his first career double double with a career-high 10 assists and 22 points.Following the regular season, he was one of four unanimous selections to the 2016–17 All-Big East first teamAfter averaging 14.7 points and 4.1 assists as a sophomore, Brunson decided to return to Villanova for his junior season. After the season ended and the 2017 NBA draft class was finalized, Brunson was projected to be a preseason All-American by NBC Sports.
Jalen Brunson Professional career
Jalen Brunson On June 21, 2018, the Dallas Mavericks drafted Brunson with the 33rd overall pick. He was the fourth and final Villanova player to be selected in the 2018 NBA draft. Brunson did not sign until after he completed his 2018 NBA Summer League play and was accorded a 4-year contract similar to a first round selection with 3-years guaranteed. He made his NBA debut on October 17, 2018, recording three points, one rebound, and an assist, in a 100–121 loss against the Phoenix Suns. After coming off the bench for his first four NBA games, Brunson started in place of the injured Dennis Smith Jr. on October 26, against the Toronto Raptors, scoring eight points, four assists, and three rebounds.[133][134] On November 8, Brunson posted 11 points against Utah Jazz.Brunson replaced Smith in the starting lineup and posted career highs of 14 points on December 8 against the Houston Rockets and 17 points on December 10 against the Orlando Magic.On January 5, he was honored by the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association as its Amateur Athlete of the Year.[138] That same night, with J. J. Barea and Devin Harris sidelined, Brunson posted 13 points, a career-high 11 rebounds, and what was then a career-high eight assists against the Philadelphia 76ers for his first professional double-double.[139] Starting in place of Luka Dončić on February 22, Brunson posted a then career-high 22 points against the Denver NuggetsOn March 12, 2019, Brunson improved upon his career high with 34 points with five rebounds, four assists, and a steal in a 105–112 loss to the San Antonio Spurs.[141] On April 7, Brunson posted a then career-high ten assists along with 12 points against the Memphis Grizzlies for his second career double-double.
Jalen Brunson With Dončić out of the lineup on December 16, 2019, and Brunson starting, the 2019–20 Mavericks ended an 18-game win streak by the Milwaukee Bucks, on a night when Brunson posted a career-high 11 assists and his first double-double of the season (13 points). On March 13, 2020, Brunson was reported to have undergone surgery to fix a labrum injury in his right shoulder. During the 2020–21 NBA season, Brunson averaged career highs in points, rebounds, and assists, finishing fourth in voting for the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award.
In the 2021–22 NBA season, Brunson became a starter and again finished the season achieving career highs in points, rebounds, and assists. On April 16, 2022, during Game 1 of the first round of the playoffs, Brunson logged 24 points, seven rebounds, and five assists in a 93–99 loss to the Utah Jazz.[148] On April 18, during Game 2 of the first round of the playoffs, Brunson put up a playoff career-high 41 points, along with eight rebounds and five assists in a 110–104 win over the Jazz. On May 15, Brunson scored 24 points and grabbed six rebounds in a 123–90 Game 7 blowout win against the overall one-seed Phoenix Suns, securing the Mavericks a place in the Western Conference Finals. Jalen Brunson On May 20, during Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals, Brunson recorded 31 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists in a 126–117 loss against the Golden State Warriors.
Jalen Brunson Personal life
On September 21, 2022, Brunson announced his engagement to longtime girlfriend Ali Marks, whom he met in high school. The proposal took place at Stevenson High School’s gymnasium following Brunson’s induction into the school’s athletic Hall of Fame.On July 29, 2023, Brunson wed Marks at The Ritz-Carlton Chicago with current and former teammates in attendance.The wedding had to be moved forward from Labor Day weekend (September 2) to accomdate Brunson’s selection to United States men’s national basketball team for the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup.