For the first time in six years, Knicks name team captain: Jalen Brunson

Jalen Brunson is the unquestioned leader of the Knicks — now he has the title to go with it.

For the first time since the 2018-19 season, the Knicks have named a team captain and, obviously, it’s Brunson.

“The New York Knicks have a deep and storied history and today we are immensely proud to add to that lineage by naming Jalen Brunson our caption,” Knicks president Leon Rose said in a statement. “Jalen is a natural born leader, and I am confident he will continue to represent the organization, fans, city and his teammates with the same heart, grit and class that he has displayed each and every day since coming to New York.”

The last time the Knicks named a captain was Lance Thomas in the 2018-19 season.

Last season, Brunson was fifth in MVP voting, averaging 28.7 points and 6.7 assists a game while shooting 40.1% from 3 and leading the Knicks to the No. 2 seed in the East. Then, this offseason, he took a sweetheart four-year, $156.5 million extension to stay with New York — leaving the Knicks cap space to build a team around him.

That team now includes Miles Bridges, who was acquired this offseason from the Nets. The Knicks enter next season as a contender in the East, one built to threaten the defending champion Celtics.