2022-23 Contenders Jalen Brunson Contenders Autograph Auto #95/99 Knicks
2022-23 Contenders Jalen Brunson Contenders Autograph Auto #95/99 Knicks
Jalen Marquis Brunson (born August 31, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was drafted with the 33rd overall selection of the 2018 NBA draft by the Dallas Mavericks and played his first four seasons in the NBA with them. He played college basketball for Villanova University, where he was the National Player of the Year as a junior and won two national championships.
Brunson participated in the 2015 McDonald's All-American Boys Game as well as the 2015 Jordan Brand Classic and represented the Team USA in the Nike Hoop Summit. He led Stevenson to the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Class 4A championship. Following the season, he won Illinois Mr. Basketball. Brunson holds the IHSA playoff single-game and the IHSA Class 4A championship game scoring records and set the USA Basketball single-game assist record for the FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship. He earned the MVP of the 2015 FIBA Under-19 World Cup for the gold medal-winning Team USA.
He began his college career as the 2015–16 Big East Conference Preseason Freshman of the Year and was a Big East All-Freshman Team selection following the season. As a starter, he helped the 2015–16 Wildcats win the championship game of the 2016 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. As a sophomore, he was a unanimous 2016–17 All-Big East first team selection for the 2016–17 Wildcats. As a junior, he was the National Player of the Year and a Consensus first-team 2018 All-Americans and he helped the 2017–18 Wildcats win the championship game of the 2018 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament to give Villanova their second National Championship in three years.
Brunson played four years for the Dallas Mavericks. After leading them to the Western Conference finals, he signed with the New York Knicks as a free agent in 2022. With the Knicks, he elevated his game and became one of the premier point guards in the league. He set the NBA record for most three point shots made in a half without a miss and tied the NBA record for most three point shots made in a single-game without a miss.
