The confetti had barely settled on the Madison Square Garden floor when a familiar voice rang out from the White House — or rather, from Truth Social. President Donald Trump didn’t just congratulate the New York Knicks on their first NBA championship in 53 years. He anointed a new hero.
“A superstar was born,” Trump wrote. “His name is Jalen Brunson.”
The praise came after Brunson dropped 45 points in Sunday night’s 94-90 Game 5 win over the San Antonio Spurs — a performance that lifted the Knicks past a franchise drought that stretched back to 1973. Brunson joined Michael Jordan, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Bob Pettit as the only players in league history to score 45 or more points in a Finals-clinching victory. He also broke Willis Reed’s 1970 Knicks record of 38 points in a title-closing game.
The president, the boos, and the backstory
Trump attended Game 3 at MSG and was greeted by a cascade of boos from the crowd — something the former and future president shrugged off when asked about it afterward. “I thought it was great,” he said in a video posted by CNN. “Mostly cheers. It was loud, and it was very enthusiastic.”
In his Truth Social post, Trump also shouted out Knicks owner Jim Dolan, Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, and Mitchell Robinson — whom he called a “great Patriot,” a nod to Robinson’s outspoken political leanings. The post was widely circulated by Fox News and racked up tens of thousands of reactions within hours.
Brunson’s speechless moment
After the final buzzer, Brunson stood on the court, arms raised, unable to find words. “I have no words,” he said. “It’s everything I ever dreamed of.” Teammates mobbed him at center court as the Garden crowd — some of whom had booed the president days earlier — roared for their new Finals MVP.
The Knicks’ run to the title was anything but predictable. They entered the playoffs as the No. 3 seed and knocked off the Bucks, Celtics, and Nuggets before toppling the Spurs in five. Brunson averaged 32.4 points in the Finals, silencing critics who questioned whether a 6-foot-2 guard could carry a franchise to its first ring in half a century.
What comes next
The city is already planning a championship parade for June 18, with city officials expecting millions of fans to line the Canyon of Heroes. For a franchise that spent decades as a punchline — through Isiah Thomas’s front-office chaos, the Carmelo Anthony-era heartbreaks, and the Kristaps Porzingis trade drama — this title feels like a reset.
Whether Trump’s “superstar” label sticks remains to be seen. But after Sunday night, Brunson has a ring, a record, and a presidential endorsement. Not bad for a guy who, just four years ago, was coming off the bench for the Dallas Mavericks.
Leave a Comment