Jalen Brunson Reveals Expectations for Knicks

The New York Knicks have high hopes for the season.
Sep 30, 2024; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson speaks during a media day press conference at the MSG training facility in Tarrytown, NY. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Sep 30, 2024; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson speaks during a media day press conference at the MSG training facility in Tarrytown, NY. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images
In this story:

The New York Knicks are coming into the season expecting to be one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference, just like they were last year.

However, the Knicks are dreaming bigger than last year's results — a second-round exit for a second consecutive year.

Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson is leading the way and he hopes and believes the team can compete at a higher level.

"We want to be better than we were last year ... we have to start all over again. That's the beauty about all of this. You never know where you're going to end up. Obviously we want to get better, and we're going to use last year definitely as motivation to pursue other goals, but we have a long way to go," Brunson said via SNY.

The Knicks definitely angled themselves to be better by making a few shrewd acquisitions. They traded for Mikal Bridges back in June and recently doubled down on their desire to win by acquiring Karl-Anthony Towns from the Minnesota Timberwolves. In addition, they signed players like Cam Payne and Landry Shamet to shore up the second unit in the backcourt.

The team has several new pieces, so there will be some growing pains, and that is what Brunson is alluding to. That being said, the Knicks believe the ceiling for the team is much higher than it was at the end of last season, and for that reason, Brunson's goals of being better than they were last year are reasonable and attainable.

It is going to take a lot of work and time to get things to mesh exactly how they need to, but with Brunson leading the way, the Knicks are in good hands with their captain leading the ship for the season.

Make sure you bookmark New York Knicks on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!


Published
Jeremy Brener
JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.