When the New York Knicks finally ended decades of frustration with a 2026 NBA Finals win over the San Antonio Spurs, the spotlight naturally fell on Jalen Brunson. The point guard swept the Finals MVP vote after averaging 32.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.0 steals in the five-game series. He dropped 56 points in fourth quarters alone — 11.2 per final frame. But for the voice of the Knicks, Mike Breen, what made Brunson special wasn’t just the scoring outbursts.
Breen, a Hall of Fame broadcaster who has called Knicks games since 1997, joined the Rich Eisen Show to break down the championship run. He pointed to a quality that often gets buried under highlight reels and box scores: Brunson is ridiculously coachable.
“I said this the other day and it might sound a little corny but Brunson has all these different characteristics that you want in your star player, that you want in your franchise player,” Breen said. “One that sometimes goes underrated — he’s extremely coachable. Even at this level, he’s extremely coachable and that’s huge for a team to come together.”
Breen explained that when the rest of the squad sees the star absorbing feedback — even criticism — from the coaching staff, it sets a tone. That includes taking direction from assistant coach Rick Brunson, Jalen’s father. “If the rest of the team sees, ‘Okay, this guy’s taken some guff from the coach … then we can do it too,’” Breen said. “You put it all together and it becomes something really magical.”
The Knicks didn’t just win the title. They swept the NBA Cup earlier in the season, making 2025-26 arguably the most successful campaign in franchise history. A championship parade is scheduled for Thursday morning.
Breen also credited the presence of Knicks legends from past eras for helping this group understand what the city demands. “It’s a team that pretty much the entire city gets behind, and it’s a team that has struggled for so long,” he said. “The fans never went away even in the rough years — and there were many rough years as we all know. To go from that and stick with them through thick and thin, and see not only a team that has success but a team that is such a representation of the city … they’re such high-character individuals.”
In an era where stars often dictate terms to franchises, Brunson’s willingness to be coached — and his ability to elevate everyone around him — might be the real secret to New York’s long-awaited parade. The numbers are undeniable. The leadership, according to Breen, is what made history.
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