Source: Pacific Press / Getty
And just like that the legend, the mythology, and the iconic status of one Jalen Marquis Brunson has grown that much more than it was on that faithful night of Game 5 of the NBA Finals on June 13, 2026.
Three weeks after Jalen Brunson dropped 45 points on the San Antonio Spurs to help secure the New York Knicks first NBA Championship in 53 years we’re learning that the “undersized” franchise point guard with the heart of a giant actually did so with a single healthy hand, and it sure as hell wasn’t his shooting hand.
According to ESPN, Jalen Brunson was playing in the NBA Finals with an injured left wrist that underwent surgery this past Tuesday (July 7) that keep him off sidelined for the next few months though he should be ready for training camp this coming September.
Though specifics weren’t made available and the extent of the injury isn’t currently known, that hasn’t stopped Knicks fans from piling onto the folklore of Jalen Brunson and suggesting the man was playing with a whole broken wrist to saying only a few ligaments were holding his hand and forearm together as he averaged 32.6 points, 4.6 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 2.0 steals in the five games of the NBA Finals this past June.
New Yorkers really will exaggerate in the best way possible when they love you. Heck, the injury already spurred some to create clever merchandise related to the news.
Per ESPN:
The Knicks finished 16-3 in the postseason, an .842 winning percentage that matched the 2024 Boston Celtics for second best since the format changed to best-of-seven series in all NBA playoff rounds beginning in 2003. The 2017 Golden State Warriors went 16-1.
New York won 13 consecutive postseason games, second to Golden State’s 15 in a row in 2017, and set records by winning nine straight road contests and outscoring their postseason opponents by 283 points.
Now that we know Jalen Brunson led the New York Knicks to an NBA Championship with one good arm, two rolled ankles and a misplaced braid, his induction into the NBA Hall of Fame is all but guaranteed as he’s proven himself to be a Gawd amongst men… and aliens.
What do y’all think bout Jalen Brunson having played with an injured wrist in the NBA Finals? Does it add to his already legendary status in New York or are Knicks fans making much ado about nothing? Let us know in the comments section below.