The Knicks are champions! 'It makes such a differe...

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wants to be the next Jalen Brunson: A star with more heart than heightArkansas Razorbacks3dMyron MedcalfRamona ShelburneJun 14, 2026, 03:00 PM ETCloseSenior writer for ESPN.comSpent seven years at the Los Angeles Daily NewsFollow on XMultiple AuthorsEmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsSANDRA BRUNSON KNEW she was taking a risk by flying commercial to Game 5 of the NBA Finals in San Antonio, instead of taking the team's charter from New York. But over the years, her family's tolerance for risk has risen.

There was the original risk she took in marrying the basketball player she'd fallen in love with in college, signing up for a life tied to his ability to make the NBA or stick with a team for any length of time.There was the risk of having their first child by herself while her husband, current Knicks assistant coach Rick Brunson, was playing professional basketball in Australia.And then, of course, there was the risk of allowing that first-born son to follow in his father's footsteps and pursue a career in basketball, knowing how hard and unpredictable the road could be.

But as she stood in the tunnel of San Antonio's Frost Bank Center on Saturday night, watching as her son Jalen walked by holding the Larry O'Brien Trophy he'd just won as the captain of the New York Knicks, Sandra Brunson said she never really saw any of it as a risk at all."All I can say is it's about belief," she said. "I remember asking Jalen during his junior year of college if there was one word that he would use to encompass everything he's about.

He said, 'Belief.'"Belief that if he worked hard enough it would lead to a night like Saturday, when the Knicks beat the San Antonio Spurs 94-90 to capture the franchise's first title since 1973.Belief that his will was enough to lead a team back from any deficit -- even historic 29-point deficits -- which he did in all four of the Knicks' wins this series.

Belief that championship teams are built, identities are cast in stone, step by step, by a group of men believing in each other and supporting each other, no matter what tests they might face or what outside noise they might hear.For decades, the Knicks tried and failed to do the opposite -- by chasing superstars and home runs and quick fixes, by changing courses emotionally and erratically.Which is why this title still feels so surprising despite New York's dominant 16-3 run through the postseason and best margin of victory in NBA postseason history (plus-263).

These Knicks were built on belief, not big swings.Before each game, Sandra Brunson sends her son a text message with a Bible verse.She sent one Saturday morning as she boarded an American Airlines flight from Chicago to Austin, Texas.

She'd missed her connection in Chicago the night before after one of the pilots on her flight from Philadelphia was late in arriving. She'd taken the risk to fly commercially because she wanted to attend a previously scheduled event for her and Jalen's Second Round Foundation, which took children from Harlem to Philadelphia.But just like her son, Sandra Brunson is not deterred by setbacks, even small ones like missing a connecting flight and having to drive an hour-and-a-half from Austin to San Antonio the afternoon of