Is New York Knicks Guard Jalen Brunson Underpaid?

Jalen Brunson's $104 million contract from the New York Knicks is looking like a bargain after year one.

New York Knicks star guard Jalen Brunson was named to Bleacher Report’s All-Underpaid First Team ahead of the 2023-24 NBA season.

“Jalen Brunson's contractual arc is, quite frankly, the stuff of legend,” Bleacher Report's Dan Favale writes. “Over the course of just a few months, he went from ‘Should the New York Knicks really have paid him that much?’ in the summer of 2022 to ‘Hey, uh, is he on the league's most team-friendly deal?’”

Brunson signed a four-year, $104 million contract with the Knicks after spending the first four seasons of his career with the Dallas Mavericks. With the Mavericks, he averaged 11.9 points, 3.7 assists, and 3.0 rebounds in 277 games. 

Jalen Brunson's $104 million contract looks surprisingly after year one with the New York Knicks / USA Today Sports

The 27-year-old guard had the best season of his career in his first year with New York, averaging 24.0 points, 6.2 assists, and 3.5 rebounds along with 0.9 steals on 49.1 percent shooting from the field (41.6 from three-point range). The season culminated in Brunson leading the Knicks past the first round of the NBA Playoffs for the first time since the 2012-13 season when Carmelo Anthony was starring for New York.

Brunson has a player option for the last year of his contract, one that would pay him close to $25 million for the 2025-26 season when he is 29 years old. If he exceeds expectations like he did last year, however, he could well play his way into a larger check.

The rest of B/R's first team included Brooklyn Nets Mikal Bridges and Nic Claxton alongside big men Wendell Carter Jr. (Orlando) and Lauri Markkanen (Utah).

Brunson and the Knicks will return to action when the preseason begins on Monday night against the Boston Celtics at Madison Square Garden (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG).