May 25, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) shoots in the first quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers during game four of the eastern conference finals for the 2026 NBA playoffs at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
New York Knicks superstar and NBA Finals MVP Jalen Brunson is not sure exactly when he suffered a left wrist injury that required surgery earlier this month, but it will likely sideline him for at least the next two months.
“There isn’t a play where I remember it happening,” Brunson told ESPN Radio’s Don, Hahn, & Rosenberg Show. “I just remember being at the free-throw line in the third or fourth quarter of Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, and my wrist is starting to feel weak.
“From that point on, it was just trying to figure out what was going on and how to proceed because I wasn’t going to get anything done during that time.”
On that night, he scored 19 points in 40 minutes as the Knicks won 109-93.
Playing through an injury on his shooting side only adds to the lore of Brunson on his path to becoming a Knicks legend. The point guard and team captain led the Knicks to a sweep in that Eastern Conference Finals series against the Cleveland Cavaliers, then extended the team’s remarkable 13-game postseason win streak by taking the first two games of the NBA Finals in San Antonio.
Brunson put the final strokes of his masterpiece in Game 5, when he dropped a franchise-record 45 points to clinch the Knicks’ first championship in 53 years.
“It’s been a rollercoaster, honestly,” Brunson said. “Once we won and everything, everything was up high…everything after we won was amazing. And then getting back to real life, it was probably best to get surgery done for my wrist. That brought me back down. But I would do it all again.”
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