NBA FINALS: KNICKS VS. SPURS

June 12, 2026

Jalen Brunson

New York Knicks

Practice Day

Q. Which attribute in your opinion allows you as a group to stay in the game, bounce back, never give up?

JALEN BRUNSON: Our mentality. Our belief and our confidence within each other I think helps us in that aspect. It really starts with our mental approach.

Q. You've said I don't know how many times that you guys have the best fans in the world. There's reports that once again they're buying tickets to be here for tomorrow's game. When you're out there, going into what's supposed to be hostile territory, what does it feel like when you hear a crowd cheering instead of booing?

JALEN BRUNSON: Yeah, I appreciate it more than I think I'll ever be able to say. Just very grateful and thankful. It's a really cool experience. Like I said, it's something that you can't really talk about; you just have to experience it.

Q. Obviously you've won at all levels. Here you are one game away. What are some of the key attributes of a winning basketball player? What are some of those characteristics that you think really play into what it takes to win at the highest level?

JALEN BRUNSON: I think the one thing that stays constant within all of that is just I've always told myself, and always been taught by my parents, never be afraid to fail.

You put yourself in those positions in the summertime when you're envisioning what's going on the court, when you're by yourself on the court, to get better in the summertime.

When those opportunities come about, you're not afraid of the moment because you worked hard enough to where if you do fail, you're going to learn anyway. You put the confidence you have in everything you do when the lights are on when no one's watching.

That's the mindset my parents instilled in me. I think every step of the way from high school to college, every coach that I've had, has helped me make it better. But it really starts with them. I'm very appreciative of them.

Q. I'm sure you thought of this moment for a long time, but does it feel different? Does it feel like you are one step away from a championship?

JALEN BRUNSON: 0-0.

Q. How have you been able to find normalcy during these Finals? Have you been able to kind of find some normalcy in your life this last week and a half, two weeks?

JALEN BRUNSON: Yeah. I think I've also been able to understand what a unique opportunity this is. So really it's not that normal. When you're doing the things that help you prepare for game, prepare for moments, put yourself in routines that you've done your whole career, your whole life, when it comes game time, you're ready to go because you put yourself, you put your mind in a position to be ready.

Also I have a very unique circle that keeps me humble. I wouldn't change that for anything.

Q. When you have the Wednesday night, even yesterday morning you were still in New York, it feels like a celebration, what was it like to put that aside and start preparing for the next thing?

JALEN BRUNSON: Yeah, I think whenever you win or lose a game, that night, I mean, you're going to think about it, think about the things you've done well or what you did wrong.

I've always told myself when you wake up the next day, it's time to turn the page. Yes, we won, but we still have a lot of work to do. We have a lot to learn. We didn't play our best basketball. We still have a lot to revisit to make sure that we don't really put ourselves in that position again.

But honestly we still have to continue to have the belief that we've had. It's really important from that aspect.

Q. Coming into the series there was so much attention on the winning streak, the margins by which you were winning games. These have not been that way. What is it about the group that when things are rolling, it looks easy, but you've had to dip, you can find that gear when you have to?

JALEN BRUNSON: Obviously when we practice, we have film, we talk about situations, what we have to do, you're always preparing worst possible case scenario. If happens, we have to prepare for this. If this happens, we have to prepare for this.

Our mindset and focus is on possession at a time, one play at a time, one quarter at a time. You're thinking about the now, how you can be better the next possession, how can you turn the page, positive or negative.

Regardless of what's going on, our mindset and approach has to stay the same. I think we've done a very good job of that. It's something that has grown over the season. It's really important, especially obviously now.

Q. At practice the other day you were talking about the development of your relationship with Karl. One of the things you said is that you felt there was an unfair narrative about him when he came in. What was that narrative and how has he dispelled that?

JALEN BRUNSON: Yeah, the narrative was placed on him by the outside world. You never really know a person until obviously you meet them face to face and you see what he says and what his actions are.

Being the teammate that he is, seeing his sacrifices, seeing what he's done his entire career, puts him in a position to become a Hall of Famer. Honestly, I wouldn't trade that for the world. The things he's done have been extraordinary. Not really sure how he's going to respond to me saying all these nice things about him.

He's one hell of a basketball player, but he's honestly a better teammate.