Do we like them?

Do we like Jalen Brunson?

Our score: 8 out of 10. Decent conduct and real community work, but the public record on the harm questions is thin, so no full marks.

Jalen Brunson is the Knicks point guard who just led New York to its first title in more than 50 years, and was named Finals MVP. He grew up with basketball all around him, with his dad Rick as a coach. He says people wrongly think basketball was forced on him: it was something he chose.

Now for the scandal section, which is short. We searched for lawsuits, accusations and court cases against Brunson himself and found nothing in the sources we read. The only controversies attached to his name this year were on-court fuss and a fight over his next contract, not anything about how he treats people.

On the harm test, there's honestly a gap. We found no words from him on LGBTQ+ people, women, migrants, vaccines or the climate, harmful or otherwise, and no sign he keeps company that pushes harm. When asked about a Trump White House visit, he said “We haven't discussed it” and that the team would decide together. That's a non-answer, not a red flag.

The best recent glimpse of his character came after the title. A hot mic caught Knicks radio voice Monica McNutt questioning whether Taylor Swift was a real Knicks fan, and she copped a wave of backlash from Swift's fans. Brunson stepped in on air to tell the Swifties to “Cut her some slack” and promised it was all good.

The good stuff is real. He won the NBA Cares Bob Lanier Community Assist Award for December 2024 after co-hosting family dinner nights for nearly 500 students and relatives, buying 250 winter coats, and hosting a shopping spree for single mothers. He also granted wishes for two kids through Make-A-Wish. A children's book, Jalen Plays It All, is due in August 2027.

He isn't a saint about money, mind. Ahead of his next contract he told Vanity Fair that the Knicks should do right by him, adding that he feels he sacrificed. That's a bloke arguing for his pay packet, which is hardly a character flaw, though it's the only whiff of grievance in the file.