Rick Brunson played for the Knicks during their last NBA Finals run in 1999. Now, as an assistant coach, he won the championship thanks to his son’s legendary run. Jalen Brunson led the Knicks as captain, defeating the exact same Spurs franchise to win the Larry O’Brien. During the entire playoffs, JB stayed locked in and even avoided speaking about the trophy-lifting moment. But after the 94-90 win, it all broke.

The Knicks star had a tearful, emotional postgame interview on the court, speaking to ESPN’s Lisa Salters. Brunson delivered 45 points, including 15 in the fourth quarter, earning unanimous Finals MVP accolades. Before speaking about the winning moment, JB took a good 15 seconds fighting the happy and emotional tears as he put his feelings into a statement.

“I have no words.” Another short pause later, he said, “Everything I’ve ever dreamed of. I don’t know what I’m feeling. I’m just like I’m in awe. Whenever someone counters out, we find a way to come back and do something about it.”

The Knicks secured their first championship since 1973, which was a dramatic playoff run filled with comebacks, underscoring the personal and franchise significance of ending a 53-year title drought. It was also a personal moment for the Brunsons, as Rick, a former Knick, is also an assistant coach on the team. They became the first father-son pair to reach the NBA Finals with the same team, nearly three decades apart.

Rick and Jalen Brunson even shared an emotional embrace, and the father gave his ultimate approval for his son’s journey with a head kiss after New York won the 2026 NBA Finals. After sharing that moment with his father, JB wrapped a towel to his face, bent down on the hardwood in an emotional moment. Brunson, who averaged 32.6 points per game in the series and earned Finals MVP. ESPN’s Salters even asked how special the moment alongside his father even meant for JB.

Again, a long pause; eyes watered up, and silence followed. Salters helped him, “We can see it.” Brunson followed it up with, “That’s it. Then we can see it.”

Jalen Brunson gives flowers to his father

Rick is widely famous for his “tough love” training style, which molded Jalen into an All-NBA point guard. Viral throwback videos frequently resurface showing Rick pushing a young Jalen through relentless park drills. The father-son duo appeared on Inside the NBA, where Rick shared what he was most proud of about his son’s journey.

“Just the way he carries himself. The leadership, you know, your winner. He blocks all the noise out outside and just goes out there and does his job. When we talk about it, you know, you know, we drive in the car, you dream about it. Never envision this. I have all his trophies. He has not one trophy at his house. I’m gonna get this MVP trophy, too.”

Rick Brunson, for the longest time, kept his son’s trophy with him. This year, NBA Cup MVP, East Finals MVP and the Finals MVP will also be added to that collection. Those training drills and values are not lost on Jalen Brunson.

“What he instilled in me as a kid, like you never know what’s going to happen if you just continue to work hard. You never know when you when you focus on just winning, right? You’re not focusing on yourself. You’re not focusing on the individual accolades that you can get. He kind of instilled that in me.”

Before Jalen became a Knick, Rick came in a month ago to be the assistant. It was in July when JB came to New York. And in less than four years, he delivers them the first title of his career.