00:15most people celebrate turning 30 with a nice dinner maybe a few jokes about getting old and
00:20maybe suddenly paying a lot more attention to their knees but Jalen Brunson he celebrated 30
00:26pretty nice with an NBA championship a finals MVP trophy and an entire city still trying to decide
00:32whether to call him king mayor or patron saint of clutch buckets anyone those names could work but
00:39after delivering the Knicks first championship in 53 years what does Brunson possibly do for an
00:44encore and has he already reached his basketball peak or are we about to see an even better version
00:49of number 11 now let's think about everything that's happened during Brunson's 20s he won his
00:55second national championship at Villanova entered the NBA as a second round pick established himself
00:59in Dallas bet on himself in free agency and arrived in New York with plenty of people questioning whether
01:05he could be the lead guard on a serious contender four years later that supposedly questionable
01:10contract looks like one of the greatest bargains in New York sports history and when the Knicks needed
01:16one final masterpiece Brunson scored 45 points in game five to close out San Antonio and end more
01:21than half a century of waiting now that may sound like the peak but when it comes to Jalen Brunson
01:28reaching the mountaintop has never meant setting up a lawn chair and enjoying the view when asked about
01:33the championship Brunson's message was simple quote we're moving on now that may sound a bit shocking
01:39to some as Knicks fans waited 53 years for that trophy in fact some Knicks fans are still re-watching
01:45games from the title run and parade videos but that response tells us what Brunson's age 30 chapter
01:50is really about he's no longer chasing validation he's chasing mastery and the encouraging part is that
01:56Brunson's game is never dependent entirely on overwhelming speed or playing above the rim
02:02it's built on footwork balance strength angles patience and the ability to convince a defender he's going one
02:08way before ending up exactly where that defender did not want him to be those are the tools of a
02:14player who wins with
02:15craft but Brunson's next level may not involve scoring more points it may actually involve making
02:20those points easier and making sure the Knicks don't always need a 40 piece to survive because the
02:26biggest question for Brunson at 30 isn't whether he can still carry the Knicks we already know that he
02:31can it's whether he can help make everyone around him better recently on the road trip and podcast
02:37Kendrick Perkins gave Brunson an interesting assignment make it a personal mission to help OG Ananobi become an
02:43all-star now look Brunson obviously cannot control the voting but the larger idea does make some sense
02:50could he consistently create easier opportunities for OG Ananobi could he help Carlton Towns dominate
02:56without disappearing from the offense himself like we saw in the playoffs could Mikel Bridges receive more
03:01chances to attack before the defense gets set the next evolution of Brunson might be measured by how
03:07rarely he has to rescue the Knicks not how spectacular those rescues are now that last part is
03:14especially important after Brunson underwent wrist surgery this summer the Knicks they need their
03:19captain at his best in April May and June that could mean asking him to do slightly less during the
03:25regular season so that he can remain the player they trust to do everything when the season is on the
03:29line and the East is not politely waiting for the champions rival contenders they've reloaded the Knicks they now
03:35carry the target on their back and every opponent gets to measure itself against the team holding the
03:40trophy so repeating will be harder than winning it the first time and see what Brunson also understands
03:46is that basketball careers change he told our Knicks beat writer Stefan Bondi that he doesn't plan to
03:52continue until the wheels fall off he wants to recognize when his role changes without allowing his ego
03:57to make the decision for him but that conversation appears to be well down the road right now Brunson he's
04:0430
04:04years old at the center of the Knicks championship window and already responsible for one of the
04:09greatest seasons in franchise history so has Jalen Brunson reached his peak maybe statistically but
04:16leadership control and understanding how to make a championship team even stronger that may be the
04:21next level waiting for him age 29 made Jalen Brunson a champion age 30 could show us whether that
04:28championship was the summit or the beginning of something even bigger
04:34and thanks for watching New York got game boom shakalaka
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