The new junior Brunson already seems to be carrying on the family tradition: last week, Ali shared a picture of young Jordyn James raising three fingers in a gesture similar to one of her father’s three-point celebrations so prevalent at Madison Square Garden on game day.
Brunson’s animated response to successful triple tries has become an inside joke shared among Knicks fans. The more elaborate version involves the shooter pressing his or her hand to their mouth but obviously Jordyn James has a little leeway considering she’s just over a month old.
On his end, Brunson has kept the origins of his three-point celebration close to the chest, cheekily telling ABC sideline reporter Lisa Salters “don’t worry about it” when she asked after a 2023 playoff win over Cleveland.
It feels like there will be plenty of of opportunies for the Brunson family to practice: through two seasons in New York, Jalen has sunk 345 three-pointers while guiding the Knicks back to the realm of NBA relevancy.
Last season, Brunson hit 211 alone en route to 50 wins and the second seed on the Eastern Conference playoff bracket. While that was well short of the franchise record set by leader and collegiate/professional teammate Donte DiVincenzo (283), Brunson became just the fifth Knicks to hit at least 200 in a single season. In that regard, the Villanova duo joined fellow active New Yorker Julius Randle, as well as Evan Fournier and John Starks.
