New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson made an appearance on The Mark Jackson Show with his father, former NBA star Rick Brunson. Jalen shared several stories about his experience growing up as the son of an NBA player. Very early into the conversation, the Knicks star was asked if he has some vivid memories of being in locker rooms or on the hardwood with his dad.
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The 2024 All-Star confessed that he remembers a lot of moments from his childhood. The one he shared on the show was a painful memory from the time his father was dropped from the Philadelphia 76ers’ roster. That incident eventually led to his retirement.
“The one memory that sticks out, it sucks, but it’s when my dad got cut when he was in Philly. And then he told me he was retiring and that’s the one that sticks out the most, because he was always not on the East Coast,” Brunson said.
“He was always like on a different team outside of the region and then he finally was back in Philly and…I thought that was going to be the year where I can go to every game.”
Brunson said that he was 10 years old at the time and at the right age to really appreciate NBA basketball. But his father was cut just when he thought he could regularly go to his games.
Immediately after Jalen talked about his father being cut, Rick immediately jumped into the conversation to set the records straight on why he couldn’t find a spot in the league. He stated that the summer that year was being dubbed as “open competition.”
Unfortunately, he ended up breaking his toe during the training camp which derailed his hopes. The following year, he was once again left out due to favoritism. The series of unfortunate events led to him making the final call on his playing career.
However, Jalen did have other positive NBA memories as well from his childhood. He has vague memories of different NBA venues. The Knicks star could also recollect faint pictures of him running around the Madison Square Garden as a kid.
