"He could have screwed me" - Nick Wright reveals Jalen Brunson's father Rick Brunson ensured he wasn't ejected from Knicks game
Jalen Brunson has garnered strong consideration for the MVP award owing to a strong season with the New York Knicks. Interestingly, FS1's Nick Wright got into a brief interaction with Brunson's father, Rick, during a playoff game against the 76ers. Brunson initially wanted an apology from the "First Things First" host for his MVP takes regarding his son, which was mistaken by the referee as an altercation.
During an episode of his "What's Wright? with Nick Wright" podcast, the sports television personality revealed that the NBA official was curious if Jalen Brunson's father wanted Wright to be ejected from the game, considering that the former NBA player is an assistant coach of the New York Knicks.
"End of the first quarter, Jalen Brunson's dad, Rick Brunson, who has played in the NBA for a long time," Wright said, "and Knicks assistant coach, sees me and he's like, 'Hey, you owe my son an apology.' I have stood up and we our two feet apart, laughing, and the ref comes over and asks Rick if he wants me to be thrown out."
"Shout out to Rick Brunson for being a good dude because he said we were cool (to the ref). He could've really screwed me there."
Wright argued that he didn't need to apologize despite his criticism of Jalen Brunson, since he has listed the Knicks point guard fourth on his 2024 NBA MVP ballot. Rick Brunson was a good sport about his interaction with Wright as he reassured the NBA official that it was just some friendly banter.
When it comes down to it, Jalen Brunson led the New York Knicks to the second seed (50-32 record) in the Eastern Conference. Additionally, his incredible production remained one of the most pivotal aspects of what made the team's regular season a success. He averaged 28.7 points (47.9% shooting) and 6.7 assists per game.
Jalen Brunson talked about the time his dad talked trash to him during the 2024 NBA All-Star Three-Point Contest
During an episode on his "The Roommates" podcast with fellow New York Knicks teammate Josh Hart, Jalen Brunson briefly talked about the time his dad was talking some smack to him from the crowd during his performance in the 2024 NBA All-Star Three-Point Contest.
"I heard some dude behind the bench, some bald guy sitting behind the bench," Brunson said, "I heard, 'Yo, you effing bum.' Who said that? My dad. He was like, 'With that bonus we could've finished my basement."
Hilariously, Rick Brunson alluded to the importance of possibly winning the $50,000 cash prize of the shooting competition. Unfortunately, Brunson did not make the final round of the tournament as he finished with 24 points (sixth place).
In the 77 games he's played this season, Brunson is shooting 39.1% from beyond the arc, where he is converting 2.7 shots out of 6.8 attempts per game.