--- --- Jun 09, 2026 # Jalen Brunson by [Sean Gregory](https://time.com/author/sean-gregory/) ## Sean Gregory Senior Correspondent  David Reginek—Imagn Images/Reuters At 6 ft. 2 in., Jalen Brunson might not pass the superstar eye test. But the New York Knicks point guard has reached elite status through a combination of impeccable footwork, body control, and mindset. The NBA’s Clutch Player of the Year in the 2024-25 season shined again in 2025-26, as he averaged 26 points per game and led the Knicks to their first NBA Finals appearance since 1999\. A two-time NCAA champion at Villanova, three-time NBA All-Star, and now Eastern Conference Finals MVP, Brunson is already one of the most beloved players in franchise history. But if Brunson can push New York past the [San Antonio Spurs](https://time.com/collection/time100-sports/2026/victor-wembanyama/) in this year’s championship series and end the franchise’s 53-year title drought, every single neighborhood in all five boroughs may throw a parade in his honor this summer. Jalen Brunson: TIME100 Most Influential People in Sports 2026 ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collection/time100-sports/2026/jalen-brunson/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collection/time100-sports/2026/jalen-brunson/"},"headline":"Jalen Brunson","datePublished":"2026-06-09T12:00:45.635Z","dateModified":"2026-06-09T12:00:45.769Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collection/time100-sports/2026/jalen-brunson/","keywords":["list","franchise"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0845535e668c2a0f/6a209d976c0c2c07dc791fc0/T100SPORTS-2026-Web-Jalen-Brunson.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sean Gregory","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/sean-gregory/"}],"creator":"Sean Gregory","articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0845535e668c2a0f/6a209d976c0c2c07dc791fc0/T100SPORTS-2026-Web-Jalen-Brunson.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collection/time100-sports/2026/jalen-brunson/","name":"Jalen Brunson"}}]}] ```