Jalen Brunson Is Refusing To Be Around The Larry O'Brien Trophy

Jalen Brunson is just three wins away from delivering the city of New York its first NBA championship in over 50 years. But while many Knicks fans believe that the Larry O'Brien Trophy is as good as theirs after last night's Game 1 win, Brunson doesn't want to talk about it.

In a recent interview on NBA Today, Brunson was asked about his apparent refusal to do any promotional events with the NBA championship trophy in the same room as him. Brunson was surprised at first to learn that others knew about that, and when pressed, he refused to answer.

"It... no comment," he said after a long pause.

Superstitious?

The New York Knicks captain clearly doesn't want to jinx himself by being in the presence of the trophy he's trying to win and Knicks fans appreciated the heck out of him for it.

"He's so locked in it's honestly terrifying me," one user declared.

"Jalen Brunson will be studied for generations on how locked in he truly is on this championship run," wrote another.

"I'll be happy for Jalen, he makes no excuses and just balls tf out! Its fun to watch," a third wrote.

"It is hilarious how Jalen Brunson just completely shut down that question with a simple 'No comment' look. Sometimes it is better to just keep things mysterious and move on, right?"

"He doesn't want his brain to experience the satisfaction of something he doesn't have. He is in a battle with his own body. The job is not done yet, so save that chemical rush for the real thing and focus it on actually getting the job done for now."

Brunson certainly appeared to be locked in on Game 1, particularly in the fourth quarter. After a pretty below-average performance in the first half, he came alive with 19 points in the second half, 13 of which came in the fourth quarter, and finished with a game-leading 30 points in a 105-95 win on the road against the Spurs.

Brunson and the Knicks are back at Frost Bank Center on Friday night for a critical Game 2. A win would boost the Knicks' chances of winning the series from around 70-percent to over 85-percent.

But Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs have no intentions of going down as easily as the 76ers and Cavaliers did. The Knicks are still far, far away from hoisting the Larry O'Brien Trophy.

And Brunson knows it.

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This story was originally published June 4, 2026 at 2:21 PM.