Following a legendary postseason run that snapped the New York Knicks’ 53-year NBA championship drought, Jalen Brunson became the undisputed hero of Gotham. The point guard solidified his standing as an immortal figure in Big Apple sports history, and New Yorkers won’t even refute it. But despite fans, city officials, and Mayor Zohran Mamdani eagerly placing a crown on his head, the 2026 NBA Finals MVP is making it abundantly clear he has no interest in adopting the regal honor bestowed upon him.
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Appearing on a recent episode of the Road Trippin’ podcast, host Alley Clifton brought up the public obsession surrounding his newfound status in the city.
“The one thing I will say, Jalen: your humility through all of this is like probably one of the most admirable things,” Clifton noted. “And so, like, just to that point, you were like, you were labeled the ‘King of New York.’ Like, from a human element to kind of bring the championship full circle, I guess like… do you keep that out of your brain? Like, how do you process that?”
In response to how Brunson processes being universally anointed by the fanbase, the star guard quickly shut down the label with characteristic modesty,
“Right. I’ve never called myself the ‘King of New York,’ and I will never call myself the ‘King of New York,'” Brunson declared.
The very subject made him awkward enough to amuse Richard Jefferson and Kendrick Perkins.
“But I feel like it’s… I don’t know. I just… for me to call myself that, I feel like that’s, obviously, it’s eh. And to say things like that, like… Just like, imagine… Listen, imagine I get on this call with you, right? Right? I’m like, ‘Yo, you know, King of New York’s here,’ whatever, whatever. You guys are going to look like, ‘What the f—? This dude is… this dude’s so self-centered.’ Like, no.”
Brunson expressed that this level of self-aggrandizement completely contradicts his values of his family and inner circle.
“Like, I just… I find a way to kind of be the same because of the people around me. Like, I have the same people I’ve had around since high school and my closest friends from college. Like, it’s always been like close-knit, and I kept it that way, and they keep me humble. But I just… it’s a true, true credit to my parents. Like my mom and dad. Like, it’s really because of them.”
The “King of New York” title was not just a one-time declaration. Mayor Zohran Mamdani first bestowed it on Jalen Brunson after the Knicks won the 2026 NBA Finals, but the moniker got an unexpected second life just two days before Brunson’s Road Trippin’ appearance.
At a late-August NYC Parks Family Camping event at Inwood Hill Park, Mamdani spent an evening with local families in Manhattan, the kind of low-key community moment that rarely makes headlines.
That was until a young constituent roasting s’mores by the fire recognized the Mayor and, with the confidence only a kid can muster, insisted Mamdani upgrade his own title to “king.”
Rather than accept the promotion, Mamdani laughed it off and deferred the throne right back to where he had always said it belonged: Brunson. It was an unscripted moment, but it captured something real about how deeply the Knicks’ championship had settled into the city’s identity.
In New York, some titles stick.
“I’m happy as the mayor. Jalen Brunson is the king,” he was caught on camera telling the kid.
Mamdani’s endorsement was not just political theater. It echoed what millions of New Yorkers had been feeling since the Knicks completed their dramatic title run. Brunson had been brilliant all season, averaging 26.0 points and 6.8 assists in the regular season, but he saved his best for when it mattered most.
He elevated to 28.4 points per game through the playoffs, and by the time the Finals arrived, he was operating at a level that felt almost unfair.
He averaged 32.6 points against the San Antonio Spurs, and when the Knicks needed someone to close the door in Game 5, Brunson dropped 45 points to clinch the Larry O’Brien Trophy and walk away with both the ECF and Finals MVP honors.
The performance put him in rare company. New York has crowned its sports royalty carefully over the years, with Derek Jeter and Eli Manning earning that status through championship moments that the city never forgot.
Brunson now belongs in that conversation, whether he wants to or not. And knowing him, he probably does not.
Despite everything he accomplished, those who are around him say he remains the same person he has always been, adamant about keeping his feet on the ground even as the city lifts him up.