Barack Obama Just Called Jalen Brunson the ‘King of New York’ and the Knicks Are All In

Barack Obama has a new favorite Knick and he’s not shy about it. The former president sat down with the All The Smoke podcast and let loose on Jalen Brunson, the guy who just dragged New York back to an NBA title for the first time in 53 years.

Obama didn’t just offer generic praise. He went deep on what makes Brunson different. “It’s the toughness and endurance and mental fortitude of that guy,” Obama said. “You just felt like, ‘I’m going to keep coming and I’m not going to doubt myself and not going to let my team doubt myself.’ And for a second-round draft pick, who was a champion, who was a winner, you didn’t see it coming.”

He compared Brunson’s college championship run to Steph Curry’s takeover of the NBA. And then he dropped the line that’s going to follow Brunson around this city for a while: “That dude has the heart of a champion.” Obama pointed to the moment after Game 5 when Brunson hugged his dad Rick on the court. “All the work they must’ve put in. All those years, all that commitment. Real proud of him. And I know he’ll never have to pay for a meal again in New York. He’s the king of New York right now.”

OG Anunoby Got His Flowers Too

Obama didn’t stop at Brunson. He spent time talking about OG Anunoby, the defensive stopper who never made an All-Star game but played like one through the entire playoffs. “I’m trying to think of a better series from somebody who’s never been an All-Star, and it’s hard to think of one, right?” Obama said. “Where, through the whole playoffs, he was just a rock.”

Anunoby’s tip-in during Game 4 to seal a 107-106 win and a 3-1 series lead was the kind of play that doesn’t show up in box scores but changes everything. Obama noticed.

Brunson Put Up 45 in the Clincher. Just Like MJ and Bob Pettit.

In Game 5, Brunson dropped 45 points. That put him in a small group with Michael Jordan and Bob Pettit — guys who scored that many in a Finals-clinching win. At the championship parade last week, Brunson took a moment to address the doubters. “There’s a lot of people that have a lot of negative stuff to say,” he said from the City Hall steps. “There’s a lot of people who have a lot of opinions. But when you prove them wrong, you really don’t have to say s— to them. They don’t deserve it.”

He looked out at the crowd and just said it: “D—n, New York, we really did it. Somehow, someway I knew we were going to find a way to get this done.”