Justin Bieber, Fans Make Knicks Star Comfortable
While many athletes and stars get scared under the bright lights of the Big Apple, New York Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson embraces it.
Brunson, 27, is two years into a four-year contract with the Knicks that he signed in the summer of 2022, shocking the league as the team looked to make him the next franchise guard despite only playing as an understudy to Luka Doncic with the Dallas Mavericks for the first four years of his career.
However, his legend has only grown since joining the Knicks, and it could be thanks to what has made him comfortable with his pre-game playlists.
“My music library in my phone, it's pretty broad. But right before I run onto the court, right after a team meeting, I have to listen to at least one [Justin] Bieber song,” Brunson told PEOPLE's Alex Ross.
Maybe the two JB's are onto something, because Brunson just enjoyed the best season of his career, averaging 28.7 points and 6.7 assists per game while making his first NBA All-Star team. He also led the Knicks back to the playoffs and won a six-game series against the Philadelphia 76ers in six games, marking the first time New York had advanced to the second round of the postseason in consecutive years since 1999-2000.
But Brunson has also grown fond of the fanbase that has supported him since the moment he put on a Knicks jersey.
“You could talk about how New York has everything. New York has the best food, shopping, and all that stuff. It has everything you could think of. You could find anything at any given time of the day. But besides all that, I just love how the people have embraced us," Brunson said in his interview.
Brunson has the backing from the biggest basketball city in the world, and that is often overlooked when it comes to a player's success. Perhaps that's part of the reason why his legend has soared over the past two years, and why he's on a path towards becoming one of the better players in the franchise's storied history.
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.