New York Knicks All-Star Jalen Brunson has the utmost confidence in himself and his teammates, but not to the point of boasting.
Brunson recently pushed back on the notion that his Knicks will be championship contenders in the 2024-25 NBA season. The first-time All-Star in 2024 led the Knicks to the Eastern Conference Semifinals without his No. 2 option in All-Star Julius Randle healthy, and a host of other injuries that plagued much of the roster from the midway point of the year onward. The Knicks were able to add a fringe All-Star caliber rising star in Mikal Bridges to their ensemble and fortified their bench with veteran depth, shooting, and playmaking this offseason.
With three stars having proven that they can average 25 points per game in a season and a supporting cast of role players that do their jobs to a tee, New York has been touted as a legitimate threat to dethrone the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics in the East and thwart off a handful of teams that have the roster makeup to make noise. Despite this, the Villanova product is keeping things humble on his end.
Jalen Brunson recognizes that next season will present new challenges for his Knicks
Jonah Morgan of Star Local Media shared these quotes from Brunson, who recently appeared on MSG Network and acknowledged the fact that his Knicks will be a problem in the East next year, but stressed that they can’t take any of the success they achieved from 2023-24 into the fresh slate that the upcoming campaign will present them with:
“We’re contenders but I think we got to go into training camp without having that word be spoken of,” Brunson said in a conference broadcast on MSG Network. “From day one, it’s just (about) getting better every single day, just focus on the next day.”
The New Jersey native elaborated further on the pragmatic mindset he is determined to embrace once the lights shine again at Madison Square Garden starting in the fall:
“We can’t just go into the season and jump right back into the second round. We got to go back and start over again,” Brunson stressed. “We have some new pieces. We have some familiar faces. What can we do with it? What type of team do you want to be? We just got to lock in and buy-in together.”
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Knicks got better this summer, but so did other contenders out East
The fact of the matter is, the Knicks were not the only team that significantly upgraded their roster in the conference. The Philadelphia 76ers went from having only former 2023 NBA MVP Joel Embiid and All-Star Tyrese Maxey signed to their roster to now having All-Star Paul George, and several shooters including Eric Gordon surrounding that new formidable big three on the perimeter. The Celtics have kept their core together, which in and of itself makes them the favorites to come out of the East again, with a proven track record of Conference Finals and Finals appearances under that unit’s belt.
The Knicks will also have to beware of a Milwaukee Bucks team that looks to have two-time league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, and All-Star Damian Lillard all healthy together to start the 2024-25 campaign.
Further, the Indiana Pacers deserve respect for downing New York in the Conference Semis and will have a young backcourt of reigning NBA Assists Leader Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, and Bennedict Mathurin all with another year’s worth of experience under their belt, and that’s all without mentioning the Miami Heat, who are seemingly always a Jimmy Butler explosion or attitude shift away from taking over the show in the playoffs.
New York is undoubtedly a scary team. They appear to be destined to play faster on offense and with more dexterity on defense next time out. But in a crowded East, it would be unwise to declare any team a surefire contender that will definitively win the conference crown.
