Jalen Brunson Labelled ‘Traitor’ by Philly Fans for $100M Knicks Deal, Hilariously Spares Josh Hart

It is heartbreaking to see your favorite player or star sign with another team instead of yours. While most fans find a way to come to terms with it, others tend to lash out instead. Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart had somewhat of a similar conversation on their podcast when a Philly fan decided to give Brunson a piece of his mind for joining the Knicks.

On one of the more recent podcast episodes of The Roommate’s Show, Jalen Brunson was reminded how a fan called him a traitor over signing a deal with the New York Knicks instead of the Philadelphia 76ers.

“Yeah, he called me a trait…Oh, yeah. You’re a traitor. I said, ‘What did I do?’ He said, ‘You ain’t come to Philly.’ I was like, ‘One, they ain’t want me. And two, it wasn’t a possibility.’ So, what? ‘Nah, man. Just wanted to say, that I respect you.’ I was like, ‘Pick a side. Just pick a side.’”

 

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Brunson mentioned how he was having lunch with Josh Hart and a waiter came up to him to call him a traitor. The New York Knicks guard was quick to defend his case, mentioning why he went with NY over Philly.

As Jalen Brunson mentioned, the Philadelphia 76ers did not want to sign him. And while the 76ers front office contemplated whether they wanted the Villanova product or not, the New York Knicks had already offered him a deal.

The Knicks offered Jalen Brunson a 4-year/$104 million contract that he signed before the 2022-23 NBA season. And at the time, it would’ve been a no-brainer for any player to immediately sign with the team.

But another hilarious aspect of the story was the fact that Josh Hart was sitting right there and the waiter did not even bat an eye at him. In fact, Hart went on to join in on the waiter’s frustration, calling Brunson a traitor as well. Clearly, Hart wasn’t going to be criticized since it was Brunson who was dropping 40 pieces on the 76ers on a nightly basis.

Jalen Brunson not attending Temple had fans furious too

Jalen Brunson is a product of Villanova University, 12 miles West of Philadelphia. That would’ve made the 6’2 guard a perfect fit to be on the 76ers roster, given that he had already been in and around the city.

Given that Jalen Brunson went on to attend Villanova University could most definitely have been the reason why that waiter called him a traitor. In fact, Brunson was also called a traitor for not attending Temple University.

Jalen Brunson’s parents both went to Temple University. His father, Rick Brunson went on to play in the NBA for 9 seasons after college, which ended up rubbing some fans the wrong way as to why Jalen did not go to his parents’ alma mater.

But looking back at where Jalen Brunson started and where he is now, things seemingly have worked out well for the New York Knicks star after all.