Knicks go all-out in star-studded event to salute captain Jalen Brunson

“Man, I’ve enjoyed watching you continue to develop, get better year after year,” Jeter said. “And I look forward to that continuing, but also leading the Knicks back to where they belong.” 

Billboards of Brunson were hung outside MSG with the slogan, “A New Capta11n in New York.” Inside the arena, Patrick Ewing, a former Knicks captain, was in the audience and listened to his narrated video introduction. 

“People want to be around you, Jalen,” Ewing said. “You’re a born leader. … You were born to play basketball for the Knicks.” 

Brunson agreed after he stepped onto the stage. 

“It means a lot to me [to be captain] because it was something I was born to do,” Brunson told MSG Network emcee Alan Hahn with James Dolan, Leon Rose, Tom Thibodeau, Ben Stiller, Mikal Bridges and John Starks also in the crowd. “No matter what field I was in, no matter if I was a doctor or a lawyer or whatever — whatever I was going to be in life, I was going to lead. 

“My parents told me never to be a follower. Always be a leader. And I really took it to heart. There were never times they said, ‘Now it’s time to be a leader, go do it.’ It just happened so naturally because that’s the mindset they gave me.” 

Brunson revealed he was approached by Leon Rose, the team president, about the captaincy — “Obviously I said yes,” he said. “Who wouldn’t want to call themselves the captain of a franchise like this?” 

Still, Brunson was surprised by Thursday’s spectacle. The captain of an NBA team, unlike in hockey or soccer, is often an afterthought.

The previous Knicks captain, for instance, is Lance Thomas. 

But Brunson has connected with the city and fanbase on a different level, not to mention he just signed a team-friendly extension that keeps him in New York until at least 2028. 

“I didn’t know [a ceremony for the team captain] was a thing. Especially in the NBA,” Brunson said. “It’s really cool.” 

With Brunson as the top performer, the Knicks won 50 games last season — their most since 2013 — and made a second straight trip to the second round. 

Next season, Brunson said, the goal is conference finals. The franchise hasn’t advanced that far in 24 years. 

“What can we do to get past the second round? That’s our goal,” he said, clarifying later, “It’s nice to hear that we’re contenders, but I think we have to go into training camp without having that word be spoken. … Obviously I said I want to get past the second round after getting there two straight years. But we can’t just go into the season and jump right back into the second round. We’ve got to go back and start all over again.

“We have some new pieces and some familiar faces, so what can we do with it? What type of team do we want to be?”