Jalen Brunson Named Knicks Captain, Which Is Apparently a Great Honor

Stephen Douglas | Aug 6, 2024

Apr 14, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) speaks to the fans prior to the start of the game against the Chicago Bulls at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports / Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

Jalen Brunson has been named the new captain of the New York Knicks, according to a myriad of social media announcements on Tuesday. Brunson, who recently signed a massive contract extension for a sizable hometown discount, has been a revelation since arriving in New York in 2022. With Brunson the Knicks have returned to glory and made it out of the first round in two consecutive seasons.

Naming Brunson team captain is a huge honor based on the fuss that's being made over the announcement today. They issued a press release and put together a video celebrating Brunson's time in New York. There will be some kind of announcement broadcast on MSG this afternoon.

So, uh, who was the Knicks captain last season? Or the season before that?

It's been mentioned multiple places that Brunson has been named the 36th captain in Knicks history. Who were the first 35? You would think it's as easy as Googling "list of Knicks captains," but you'd be wrong.

According to a New York Post article from October 2004, Stephon Marbury would have been the 16th captain in Knicks history. The previous 15 captains are listed below the article which said, "
Marbury returned from the Olympic disappointment with a newfound maturity and perspective and he grabbed the bull by the horns Monday."

The Knicks never had a winning season in the Marbury era.

In another article from the New York Post, Carmelo Anthony was named co-captain of the Knicks with Amar'e Stoudemire during the 2011-2012 season. Anthony's captaincy was reportedly announced at the team Christmas party. It was not mentioned what number captain either of those players were.

All we know for sure is that the Knicks had 15 captains between Willis Reed in the early 1970s and Stephon Marbury in the early 00's, which means there were about 20 in the last 20 or so seasons. Which in turn means there were probably some captains during the stretch between 2014 and 2020 when the team averaged 24.5 wins a year.

It doesn't seem the team made any hype videos or issued any press releases when they named a captain for the '18-'19 team that went 17-65, but maybe we missed it.

The truth is it doesn't matter. The Knicks aren't here to talk about the past. Jalen Brunson is restoring the honor to the Knicks captaincy. The other guys who may or may not have been captains in the 21st Century? Well, don't worry about those guys. If you need to know about them someone will put it on social media.