Achraf Hakimi Copies Knicks Star's Celebration

New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson was honored after a recent goal by soccer star Achraf Hakmi.

Jan 25, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) celebrates his three point shot against the Denver Nuggets during the third quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports / Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

This is one steal that New York Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson will be perfectly fine with.

Brunson has developed a signature celebration during his time with the Knicks, pressing the area between his thumb and index finger to his mouth after success three-point tries. The trend has become popular among Knicks fans and has apparently gone international.

Moroccan soccer/association football star Achraf Hakimi recently brought the celebration to France, as he imitated Brunson during Paris Saint-Germain's 6-0 rout of Montpellier in early Ligue 1 play. Hakmi scored the fourth goal for Les Parisiens in the 58th minute of a Friday match and copped Brunson's jubilation.

While the gesture was not present in the game broadcast, Hakimi posted a picture of it in his Instagram story. Brunson acknowledged the gesture in his own, sending an emoji of praying/grateful hands in return.

View the exchange here, courtesy of New York Basketball on X.

Hakimi, 25, has been with PSG since 2021, when he signed a €68 million contract. He returned to Les Rouge-et-Bleu with some new Parisian hardware in tow, as he recently captained Morocco's bronze medal run at the local Olympic Games. It was Morocco football's first Olympic medal, as it took down Egypt by a 6-0 final in the third-place match (shortly after they shut out Team USA 4-0 in the quarterfinals).

Brunson's celebration has taken the sports world by storm, as Hakimi was far from the first to imitate it. Such flatterers also include New York Liberty point guard Sabrina Ionescu, who occasionally broke it out en route to setting a WNBA record for most triples in a single season. Members of the New York Mets also copied their blue metropolitan counterparts.

For his part, Brunson has played coy about the origins of his celebration, humorously remarking "Don't worry about it" when ESPN/ABC sideline reporter Lisa Salters inquired after a 2023 playoff victory over Cleveland.

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