The road taken by Jalen Brunson to become one of the best point guards in the NBA wasn’t an easy one. There were plenty of tribulations en route, both in college and in the league. Brunson’s basketball journey began as a child, and his first challenge was none other than his very own father.
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Jalen’s father, Rick Brunson, had nine years of NBA experience. The 6-foot-4 point guard was far from a star but possessed enough skill to play for eight teams in his career from 1995 to 2006. Rick learned the game in the inner city of New York in the 1980s and ’90s. So his competitive fire was extremely high.
After Jalen started playing, Rick was ecstatic that his son loved basketball. Although he was only a child, Rick ensured he taught Jalen at a young age that there’s no such thing as handouts.
“I was always trying to teach him a lesson,” Rick revealed on the Roommates Show. “You guys just basketball. For me, when I played, you always kept score.”
Of course, the core idea behind playing basketball for Rick was how fun the sport is. Aside from that, whenever Brunson laced up his sneakers, his main goal was to win. He had to convey that message loud and clear to Jalen, even if it required some unethical measures.
“He’d be winning, 4 to 2 in a game up to 5. I’m like, ‘I’m up 3-2.’ He’s like, ‘Alright.’ He never knew the score,” Rick said.
The two-time All-Star is aware of his father’s antics now, but back then, he didn’t. His father must’ve seemed like an impenetrable Goliath for the young Jalen. The reality is that Jalen may have more victories against his father under his belt than he realizes.
“He probably beat me more than what he caught cause he didn’t know the score, and I just cheated,” Rick said.
Eventually, Rick’s reign over Jalen came to an end, even with his habit of cheating. Once Jalen reached his junior year of high school, his skills reached a point where it became impossible for Rick to read his son’s plays. From that point on, Jalen continued to reach higher and higher.
The past two seasons, Jalen has earned All-NBA Second Team honors, an accolade his father didn’t receive in his career. It may have taken years building himself into the player he is today, but Brunson now stands as the face of the New York Knicks‘ franchise.
Certainly, if the father and son were to go against each other now, it wouldn’t be a competition. But that’s exactly how Rick would want it to go.
