Jalen Brunson could’ve been a Bull.
Not that he should’ve been a Bull. The Mavericks drafted Brunson with the third pick of the second round in 2018. But the Bulls had two first-round picks that year, and they chose Wendell Carter Jr. at No. 7 and Chandler Hutchinson at No. 22.
If they knew then what they know now — Brunson went 11 picks after Hutchinson, who played four nondescript NBA seasons — the Bulls might’ve wanted Brunson around.
And what fun that would’ve been. At Stevenson High School, Brunson was the Sun-Times’ Player of the Year in 2014 and ’15. His father, Rick, played two seasons for the Bulls (2002-04) and was an assistant on coach Tom Thibodeau’s staff in 2010-13.
But the Mavs took Brunson, and in 2022, he signed with the Knicks, who, for those of a certain age, make him a sworn enemy of the Bulls.
To dislike Brunson, though, is to dislike ice cream, puppies and rainbows. Even the Knicks as a team became likable last season on their way to the franchise’s first NBA title since 1973. For Brunson’s sake, it was best the Bulls didn’t draft him, because he wasn’t winning anything here.
And he wouldn’t have had the amazing six-month run he just had, either.
Brunson led the Knicks to the title and earned Finals MVP honors in June, becoming a legend in a city that had yearned for basketball glory. In September, he hosted “Saturday Night Live,” joining Michael Jordan among the handful of NBA greats to do so.
And on Thursday, he’ll appear on NBC’s “Law & Order: SVU” as Detective Madison — get it? — with show mainstay and Knicks superfan Mariska Hargitay.
“I thought I would be able to call myself a champion at some point in whatever role I was playing,” Brunson said last week after the Knicks beat the Bulls at the United Center. “But to say that I thought I’d have this type of year, I would be lying to you if I said I had a thought.”
Don’t expect Brunson to give up dribbling for acting anytime soon, even though he doesn’t quite fit the prototype for an NBA player — and that’s coming from his coach.
“You look at this guy, and he’s not 6-7, he’s not athletic, he’s not quick,” Mike Brown said. “You can go down the line in natural physical tools that a lot of guys have, but his determination, his competitive spirit, his will, his toughness, it makes him an unbelievable basketball player.”
Knicks guard Jalen Brunson greets fans after the victory against the Bulls at the United Center.
Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
For the record, Brunson is 6-2, but he plays bigger, as in clutchness. He has finished in the top five for Clutch Player of the Year — aka the Jerry West Trophy — in four consecutive years, winning in 2025.
He did, however, seem to need some home cooking last week when he entered the game against the Bulls in a shooting slump. In the stadium that Jordan built and Brunson visited often as a kid, he found his touch, shooting 52% from the field and 60% from three-point range for a season-high 38 points. He’ll face the Bulls again Wednesday at Madison Square Garden.
“I was just happy to be able to finally get over the hump,” Brunson said. “I felt like I was putting a lot of unnecessary commentary in my head. But seeing the ball going the way it did got me out of my mental state and put me back in a good state.”
Literally and figuratively. Brunson said he has many fond memories from the United Center. He watched the Bulls’ Derrick Rose and the Heat’s LeBron James battle in the 2011 Eastern Conference finals.
“I remember exactly where we used to sit,” he said.
He met countless players, including the late Kobe Bryant.
“It was in that hallway,” he said, nodding toward the area outside the visitors’ locker room.
He also met Rose, with whom Brunson reconnected after the game. After making a shot late in the game, Brunson appeared to point toward Rose. Later, he clarified that he was pointing at Rose’s oldest son, PJ, who’s 14.
“It’s crazy to see how old he is now,” Brunson said. “The relationship I have with [Rose] and his family, I feel like the feeling is mutual. I’m just happy to have that guy as a mentor and personally I can talk to, and I just really look up to, as well.”
Rose was on his fourth team, the Timberwolves, when Brunson entered the league. So a Bulls backcourt of Brunson and Rose was never in the cards. But after seeing what Brunson has become with the Knicks — the Knicks! — it’s hard not to be envious of what they have with one of our own.
“An MVP-caliber basketball player,” Brown said. “I hope he gets recognition for that this year because his will is off the charts.”