“I Can’t Live Out My Dream?”: Jalen Brunson Calls Out Fans For Worrying About His Injury During His WWE SmackDown Appearance

After impressing the basketball world during the 2023-2024 season, Jalen Brunson took fans by surprise as he made an appearance on WWE SmackDown. While Brunson seemed to have enjoyed living out a dream of his, fans were more concerned about his injured hand. Discussing the same topic on his podcast, the Knicks guard made it clear that his hand was absolutely fine and certain actions were only done for dramatic purposes.

Social media was in a frenzy when Jalen Brunson made an appearance in the WWE rink, staring down his opponent–Tyrese Haliburton–from the 2023 Eastern Conference Semifinals. Many enthusiasts seemed to appreciate the humor. However, a large group of individuals couldn’t help but notice how the All-Star was in slight pain while taking a look at his hand for a brief moment.

During the latest Roommates Show episode, while discussing the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that he received alongside Haliburton, Brunson couldn’t have been clearer when giving an update on his hand injury.

“My sister sends me the screenshot of a tweet… looking at my hand being bent. So it was just a broken heart, a bunch of broken hearts. Everyone was just like ‘just stay home, stop playing around, wrap ‘em in bubble wrap’. I was like ‘I can’t live out my dream?’”

To be fair, the concerns of his well-wishers are justified. As seen in the embed below, it seemed as though the southpaw hurt his hand while making it into the ring.

https://twitter.com/itsYDG2/status/1806858689359352163?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

But, fans will now be relieved to learn that it was all an act. Following a successful surgery in May, Brunson continues to rehab.

Jalen Brunson hurt his hand in Game 7 of the Knicks-Pacers series

During the Knicks’ injury-riddled 2023 postseason run, Jalen Brunson sustained a broken left hand. In what would turn out to be the team’s final game of the playoffs, Brunson hurt his hand in the third quarter of Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals series between the Knicks and the Pacers.

Brunson’s horrific injury resulted in the New York side suffering a huge 109-130 loss, eventually losing the series. Due to the pain, the former Wildcat was restricted to scoring merely 17 points (his playoff low).

About three days after the incident, the organization disclosed that their star underwent a successful surgery to repair his left hand. According to the team’s statements, Jalen would only be re-evaluated about 6-8 weeks later (sometime in mid-July).

Jalen Brunson underwent successful surgery on his left hand. He will be re-evaluated in 6-8 weeks.

— NY Knicks PR (@NY_KnicksPR) May 22, 2024

With almost three more months remaining for the 2024-2025 season to kick-start, Brunson has ample time to further take care of his hand and return 100% fit.