{"id":859068,"date":"2026-08-15T13:38:21","date_gmt":"2026-08-15T13:38:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/859068\/"},"modified":"2026-08-15T13:38:21","modified_gmt":"2026-08-15T13:38:21","slug":"jalen-brunson-on-the-ever-growing-love-story-between-the-game-of-golf-and-basketball","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/859068\/","title":{"rendered":"Jalen Brunson on the ever-growing love story between the game of golf and basketball"},"content":{"rendered":"

New York City\u00a0\u2014\u00a0\n <\/p>\n

\n There is an ever-growing love story between the game of golf<\/a> and basketball<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n

\n Maybe it\u2019s the rhythm of a smooth swing mirroring the comfort of a polished jumper. Maybe it\u2019s the chance to perform outside in front of chirping birds rather than chirping fans inside a booming arena.\n <\/p>\n

\n For NBA champion and Finals MVP Jalen Brunson, it\u2019s simpler than that \u2013 it\u2019s competition.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cMy dad stopped playing me one-on-one on the court, so I needed to find something else to beat him in,\u201d Brunson told CNN Sports<\/a>. \u201cYou\u2019re still being competitive.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Brunson\u2019s dad, Rick Brunson, was also an NBA player and is currently an assistant coach for the New York Knicks<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThere are a lot of players around the league who bring clubs on the road when you\u2019re going to warm cities,\u201d the younger Brunson said. \u201cIt\u2019s become a thing.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\"<p>Golf's<\/p>\n

Tommy Fleetwood on the importance of giving back and making a difference\n <\/p>\n

\"<p>Golf's<\/p>\n

Tommy Fleetwood on the importance of giving back and making a difference<\/p>\n

4:39<\/p>\n

\n The offseason especially has turned into showcase opportunities for players across social media and beyond, either casually or in tournament<\/a> form.\n <\/p>\n

\n Brunson\u2019s annual charity golf classic fits right in. It raises money for his Second Round Foundation, which pulls on his story as a second-round draft pick to provide opportunities to \u201cthe overlooked\u201d and stresses \u201csuccess doesn\u2019t always look like a first-round pick,\u201d the foundation\u2019s mission statement reads.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cYou can go down so many different roads with that term,\u201d Brunson told CNN. \u201cI felt like I was overlooked in sport, but there are a lot of kids and people who overlooked this in life.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\"CNN's<\/p>\n

\n He co-founded the foundation with his mom, Sandra Brunson.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cOverlooked is a term that I think many people can associate with,\u201d but for children \u201ceveryone needs to start on the same playing field and we\u2019re just happy to be able to help and to provide whatever resources we can,\u201d Sandra Brunson told CNN Sports.\n <\/p>\n

\n For the golf fundraiser, Brunson said he typically sends invites out to other players, like teammate Josh Hart, but that people also sign up on their own before his mom cut him off.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cI send the invites, OK? So if anybody didn\u2019t get one, it\u2019s on me,\u201d Sandra said.\n <\/p>\n

\n Jalen laughed and said, \u201cI mean, I was gonna throw her under the bus anyway.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n LeBron James<\/a>, whom Brunson is scheduled to be facing on opening day of the coming NBA season, is among the basketball elite attempting to climb the golfing ladder.\n <\/p>\n

\n Others, more notoriously prolific on the course, like Steph Curry, Los Angeles Lakers star Austin Reaves, Michael Jordan, and even recently retired guard JR Smith have arguably climbed that ladder.\n <\/p>\n

\n Curry won<\/a> the 2023 American Century Classic, a premier celebrity tournament that includes many pro athletes. Reaves has a fully dedicated golf social media Instagram account<\/a>, and right after retirement from the NBA, Smith joined<\/a> the golf team at North Carolina A&T as a freshman walk-on.\n <\/p>\n

\n Even Caitlin Clark<\/a> and Diana Taurasi<\/a> on the WNBA side have not been shy about their golf bug.\n <\/p>\n

\n The NBA posted<\/a> a video of Philadelphia 76ers star Tyrese Maxey on the course as he jokingly admitted, \u201cI can do all this basketball with 20,000 people but golfing in front of cameras? Can\u2019t do it.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n The PGA published<\/a> an article citing specific basketball movements that \u201cclosely relate to the golf swing and golf performance,\u201d including: free throws compared with putting, the crossover compared with the tempo change during a swing, and more.\n <\/p>\n

\n For Brunson, though, it\u2019s not that deep \u2013 yet.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cIt can be,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I\u2019m getting there.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThere\u2019s a lot surrounding it that makes it like the perfect getaway for a lot of not just basketball players but pro athletes,\u201d Brunson said, correctly mentioning the golf phenomenon is nowhere near limited solely to basketball.\n <\/p>\n

\n But on how prevalent it is in the NBA, he says, \u201cIt\u2019s definitely a good group \u2026 It\u2019s a perfect getaway where you\u2019re still being competitive.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\"Golden<\/p>\n

\"Indiana<\/p>\n

\n One person in the Brunson orbit who hasn\u2019t quite been able to break into the game of golf is Jalen\u2019s mom.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cNo one in my family has ever even attempted to invite me to a golf outing to participate,\u201d Sandra told CNN Sports.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cI haven\u2019t seen her even touch a club,\u201d Jalen joked. \u201cAnd we\u2019re trying to play, we\u2019re not \u2013 this isn\u2019t a lesson.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cMy daughter has clubs. My granddaughter has clubs, I don\u2019t even have clubs,\u201d Sandra said.\n <\/p>\n

\n But it\u2019s also the focal point of their annual charity event so she anticipates her competitiveness as a former collegiate athlete will get her there at some point.\n <\/p>\n

\n This offseason for Jalen has meant less golf as he recovers from a wrist surgery, but it\u2019s also meant more downtime, valuable moments with family, and even an upcoming children\u2019s book<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n

\n Still, the first offseason as an NBA champion has been a little \u201chectic,\u201d he explained, but in the end \u201call great problems to have.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n In about two short months, the NBA regular season will officially kick off, but if the volume of offseason golf is any indication, the competitiveness started well before that opening tip.\n <\/p>\n