What Jalen Brunson’s new title says about Knicks star, teammates

Jalen Brunson was announced this week as the 36th captain of the Knicks, a number that feels like more of a rough estimate because captaincies aren’t usually this official and the organization has been around since 1946.

Given the list of some of the known previous captains — for instance, Lance Thomas, Courtney Lee, Raymond Felton, Eddy Curry, David Lee, Steve Francis — it’s not exactly hallowed ground.

But this is different. There’s more to Brunson being captain than the title.

And the announcement Tuesday prompted four thoughts/questions:

1. It’s well-deserved

This was an obvious thought and repeated elsewhere. I promise the list will get more original. But it also needs to be said at the top.

Brunson, more so than any basketball player I’ve covered, is a leader. He’s a leader on the court, where he expertly finds the crevices that lead to winning games. He’s a leader off the court, where he navigates relationships and media responsibilities with the purpose of fostering a unified message/locker room.

He’s an extension of Tom Thibodeau. He took less money to be here. He embraces the pressurized moments. He leads by example. He led the Eastern Conference in charges drawn.

If Brunson were bigger and more athletic, he’d be the perfect NBA player. Instead, he had to settle for being the perfect leader.

2. I’m surprised by the announcement

Brunson has tried to relay the message that he’s just another one of the guys, a member of the Knicks like his teammates. In fact, that was his exact answer — “I’m just another player on the Knicks” — when I asked him during the playoffs why he’s not last during lineup introductions like other stars.

Brunson doesn’t typically draw this kind of attention to himself. And while it’s one thing to be quietly named captain, it’s another to have it announced in a press release with a slogan using Brunson’s uniform number “Capta11n” ready for sharing on the team’s social media accounts. I could be mistaken, but I don’t think there’s ever been a press release for an NBA team’s captain. It could’ve been mentioned during Media Day in late September.

This type of presentation does two things:

First: It legitimizes the title of Knicks captain, an honor that has meant nothing over the past 50 years. The most dedicated Knicks fan would have trouble naming the previous five captains. Willis Reed was really the last. Even Patrick Ewing was just a co-captain with Charles Oakley. At one point, Ewing was a tri-captain with Allan Houston and Larry Johnson. Brunson is by himself.

Second: It allows Brunson to brand himself as The Captain. The title is lucrative — just ask Derek Jeter — but requires winning. Anything less than a conference final this season will be a failure. That’s a lot to put on Brunson’s shoulders, but it’s refreshing to have a player who wants the extra burden — and potential rewards — of New York City. If he wins as The Captain, he will more than make up for all the money he left on the table with the team-friendly extension.

3. What does this mean for Julius Randle?

The Knicks had two All-Stars last season, but only one captain.

It was a good sign that Randle didn’t appear to hold any resentment, posting a congratulations to Brunson on Instagram in which he called the point guard “Cap” and wrote, “well deserved!!” But it’s worth noting that Randle was the best player on the Knicks for most of the past five years, when the organization decided, without public explanation, to abandon the captain title. It was the longest dormancy in memory for the Knicks and happened to coincide with the Randle era. That could mean absolutely nothing to Randle. Maybe he even rejected an offer to become captain. I don’t know.

But there’s something else to monitor with this dynamic. While the rest of the eligible core pieces signed new contracts or extensions this summer (Brunson, OG Anunoby, Thibodeau), Randle remains on his current deal with an option to become a free agent next year. He’s the only rotation piece who can hit the market that quickly.

If I’m Randle, I’m looking at that Anunoby deal ($212 million), in particular, and saying, “Where’s my payday?”

4. Will Brunson wear a ‘C’ on his uniform?

Probably not. First, no Knick has ever worn the ‘C,’ not even Reed. Second, the ‘C’ has been gone from all NBA uniforms for over a decade, and it’s difficult to see it resurfacing because of the relatively new sponsor patch on the shoulder.

The last players to wear ‘C’ were co-captains Chris Paul and David West with the New Orleans Hornets in 2011. According to ESPN, 43 players have donned a ‘C’ in the NBA’s history, with notables including Chris Mullin (Warriors), Tim Hardaway (Warriors), Mark Jackson (Clippers), Tom Chambers (SuperSonics), Reggie Miller (Pacers), Nate Archibald (Kings) and Tracy McGrady (Magic).

Unless the Knicks find an innovative place for Brunson’s ‘C’ or get rid of their sponsor patch — they notably didn’t have one during the 2022-23 season — don’t expect a visual symbol of his captaincy.

Summer vacation

I looked it up. The Knicks were one of just four NBA teams without a single player in the Olympics. The others? The Cavaliers, Pistons and Jazz.

It’s quite a difference from a year ago, when three current Knicks — Brunson, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart — were all starting for Team USA in the FIBA World Cup. Back then, Thibodeau publicly lauded their decisions to play in the summer, often referencing Derrick Rose’s MVP season occurring just after his World Cup title.

“The benefits far outweigh whatever negatives there might be,” Thibodeau said. “No one is being taxed to the point where he’s playing 40 minutes. You’re playing roughly half a game. And every player on your team is a great player, so you’re practicing against the best. And doing things you probably wouldn’t be doing in the summer.”

For Brunson and Hart, the transition from Team USA turned into their best NBA seasons, although drawing a correlation is tricky. The theoretical benefit of playing in the summer is avoiding rust and conditioning problems at the start of the season. Instead, Brunson and Hart — especially Hart — played better toward the end of last season. They were basically peaking in the playoffs.

Bridges was the opposite. After finishing second on Team USA in minutes played at the World Cup, he started hot with the Nets but fell off a cliff around the All-Star break.

We’ll see how they react after a summer when they all stayed home while many of their top competitors were playing overseas.

Men about town

It’s the dead period for NBA basketball, but there will be a few upcoming opportunities for Knicks fans to catch the top players locally.

Here are four announced events…

Aug. 16: A Knicks panel featuring Brunson, Hart, Walt Frazier and Spike Lee speaking at the Fanatics Fan Fest at The Javits Center. Tickets available here.

Aug. 25: Julius Randle Youth Camp at Basketball City, 299 South St, New York, NY. Register now for kids 6-16.

Aug. 26: Brunson’s charity golf tournament at the Westchester Country Club in Rye, NY. Registration available here.

Sept. 7: “The Roommates” podcast with Hart, Brunson and Bridges is doing a live show at Rumsey Playfield in Central Park. Tickets can be found here.