Knicks Star Sets Record Straight on WWE Hand Stunt

If this whole New York Knicks basketball thing doesn’t work out for Jalen Brunson, perhaps an acting career awaits.

The Knicks’ All-Star point guard and beloved franchise face took the team’s expansive fanbase on an emotional rollercoaster last week: when “WWE Smackdown” descended upon Madison Square Garden.

While many no doubt appreciated Brunson scaring Indiana Pacers star and tri-state area public enemy Tyrese Haliburton off from the ring, the third-year Knick perhaps made metropolitan hearts stop upon his entrance: as he entered the ring to assist LA Knight, Brunson appeared to bend his injured left hand at an awkward angle and wince, turning intimidation duties against heel combo Haliburton and Logan Paul over to the WWE fan favorite.

Brunson previously set the record straight on X but further clarified that the gag was a handy bit of improvised kayfabe during the latest episode of his “Roommates Show” web series.

“I did free style a little bit and the part I free styled, everyone freaked out over,” Brunson said when queried about the appearance by “Roommates” co-host Matt Hillman. “My sisters sends me this screenshot … of a tweet of a person screenshotting the video and looking at my hand being bent and so it was just like a broken heart, like it was a bunch of broken hearts. Everyone was like ‘just stay home! Stop playing around, wrap him in bubble wrap!'”

“I’m just like, I can’ live out my dream?”

Brunson previously injured the hand in question during the 2024 Eastern Conference Semifinals in May against Haliburton and the Pacers. He endured a fracture in a futile attempt to stop an Indiana fastbreak during the seventh and final game of the series, a 130-109 Pacer victory at MSG. Brunson was the final addition to an expansive New York injury report that previously added Josh Hart, Julius Randle, Mitchell Robinson, and more.

In the first post-playoff episodes of “Roommates,” Brunson’s hand was adorned in a cast but that has since been removed. He since clarified to co-hosts Hart and Hillman that “there’s no strength” in the hand but there’s also, on a brighter note, “no pain.” A previous video posted to Brunson’s Instagram page depicted Brunson working on his free throws with no encumberance.

Knicks fans no doubt await the return of Brunson, who is fresh off his most brilliant effort yet: en route to his first All-NBA and All-Star team invites, Brunson averaged 28.7 points and 6.7 assists, both career-highs, and guided the shorthanded Knicks to 50 wins and the second seed on the Eastern Conference playoff bracket.

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