Knicks name Jalen Brunson captain after massive contract discount

Jalen Brunson has been the Knicks’ leader. But Tuesday they made it official, honoring him as their first team captain in years.

“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 as our captain,” team president Leon Rose said in a statement.

“Jalen is a natural born leader, and I am confident he will continue to represent our organization, fans, city and his teammates with the same heart, grit and class he has displayed each and every day since he came to New York.”

Brunson came to New York two seasons ago as a free agent, and transformed the franchise in those short couple of campaigns.

The Knicks, floundering before his arrival from Dallas, have been a combined 97-67 since — their best consecutive seasons since 1999-00 and 2000-01.

Tuesday they made him their first team captain since Lance Thomas back in 2018-19. They’ve had three dozen captains in their history, just four of them second-round picks.

It comes after Brunson signed a four-year, $156.5 million contract extension last month, a staggering $113 million less guaranteed than he was eligible to sign for a year from now.

The 27-year-old has exceeded all reasonable expectations since coming to the Garden.

Brunson averaged 28.7 points, 6.7 assists and 3.6 rebounds in 77 games this past season, finishing fifth in MVP voting and carrying the Knicks to the second seed in the Eastern Conference and a second-round exit in the playoffs.

The point guard averaged 32.4 points, 7.5 assists and 3.3 boards in 13 postseason games, a first-round win over the Philadelphia 76ers and then a conference semifinal loss to the Indiana Pacers.