After the second game of the Eastern Conference finals against the Cavaliers in late May, New York Knicks star guard Jalen Brunson was not 100%. He did not let it be known publicly, but Brunson had injured his wrist in the second half of that game, a win by the Knicks that put them up, 2-0, in the series.
From there, Brunson played two more games in the conference finals and five in the Finals against the Spurs. In those seven games, he averaged 29.7 points and 4.9 assists, winning the championship series MVP award. His wrist was bandaged at times, but there was no formal revelation about the injury from the Knicks.
It was only earlier this month (July 7), in fact, that Brunson finally had surgery on the wrist, as revealed by a report from ESPN’s Shams Charania, who wrote: “Jalen Brunson underwent surgery on his left wrist Tuesday, and the NBA Finals MVP is expected to return to basketball activities later this summer, sources told ESPN.”
Jalen Brunson Does Not Know When Injury Occurred
Throughout it all, we did not have many details on what, exactly, had happened to Brunson, or when it occurred–all that was reported was that it was an injury that happened during the playoffs. In an appearance on ESPN New York this week, Brunson revealed that the injury took place in that Game 2 vs. Cleveland … but, surprisingly, admitted that he has no idea exactly when or how.
“I don’t–there isn’t a play where I remember it happening. I just remember being at the free-throw line in the third or fourth quarter of Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals and my wrist was starting to feel weak,” Brunson said. “And I was like, ‘Where is this thing coming from?’ And, yeah, from that point it was trying to figure out what was going on, how I can proceed––because I wasn’t gonna get anything done during that time.”
Knicks Clean Up at ESPYs
So, yes, the Finals MVP played through a wrist injury that was bad enough to require surgery after the season. Again, he should be back and 100% by the time training camp rolls around, but Brunson said the wrist has been healing on schedule. He’s been seen wearing a sling, and was in a small brace at the ESPY awards in Las Vegas on Wednesday.
Brunson won Best Male Athlete for the previous year, beating out NFL MVP Matthew Stafford, Argentina soccer hero Lionel Messi and Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani for the award.
Brunson was clearly emotional in getting the award, and his speech was limited to: “First and foremost, to be awarded this award in a group like that means the world, so I want to say thank you to the fans. I really do appreciate y’all. My family, my teammates, just everyone that’s always believed in me. …
“I lost the words. It’s been a hell of a run, to say the least.” Brunson then smiled and walked off the stage.
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