NEW YORK – Jalen Brunson quickly agreed to extend his stay with a New York Knicks team that has been on the rise since his arrival.
Brunson signed a four-year contract extension with the Knicks on Friday that a person with knowledge of the details said was worth about $156.5 million.
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Brunson could have earned a much bigger deal by waiting a year, but chose the extension on the first day it was available to him in a move that provides a financial benefit to a Knicks team that the point guard has led to the second round of the playoffs in both seasons in New York.
"Jalen has embraced every challenge since he’s come to New York and has been committed since day one to the vision and plan we set forth for the future of this team. Since Jalen joined us two years ago, he has consistently led by example and continues to show a willingness to sacrifice for this organization, his teammates and everyone in the Knicks family,” Knicks President Leon Rose said in a statement.
The Knicks did not reveal terms of the deal, but they were confirmed to The Associated Press under condition of anonymity. They were first reported by ESPN, with Brunson's agent telling the organization his client chose the extension over a five-year, $269 million contract he could have received as a free agent in 2025.
Brunson comes off one of the best seasons in franchise history, averaging 28.7 points and finishing fifth in the voting for the NBA's MVP award.
That was far more than expected when the former second-round pick signed with the Knicks in 2022, with critics wondering if a player who had mostly been a backup in Dallas was worth more than $100 million.
Nobody can question Brunson's new deal.
The Knicks hadn't reached the second round of the playoffs since 2013 before Brunson helped them get there in his first season in New York. They nearly went even further last season, falling to the Indiana Pacers in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals after Brunson broke his hand in the second half.
Before that he was having a memorable postseason, with five 40-point games that included a franchise playoff-record 47 points in Game 4 of the first round against Philadelphia, and regularly received chants of “MVP! MVP!” during his first All-Star season.
Brunson's extension will begin with the 2025-26 season and his decision to take lesser money now should help the Knicks manage their payroll after a busy offseason in which they have re-signed OG Anunoby on a five-year contract worth more than $210 million and acquired Mikal Bridges from the Brooklyn Nets.
The 27-year-old Brunson has averaged 26.5 points in his two seasons with the Knicks.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA