Hard work pays off. Just ask Jalen Brunson.
The son of an ex NBA player who now serves as his assistant coach, the barely 6ft 1in Brunson has risen from second-round pick to unquestioned leader for one of the most iconic franchises in all of sports.
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To casual basketball fans, Brunson's ascendancy to Knickerbocker superstar and MVP vote-getter might seem like a shot out of the blue.
Anyone who’s watched his career closely will tell you his story is far from one of overnight success.
Basketball courses through Brunson’s veins but nepotism will only get you so far in The Association.
Talent and hard work always triumph in the end, and the undersized guard has been paying his dues for years.
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What the 27-year-old lacks in size and athleticism, he more than makes up for in heart and dedication, evidenced by a behind-the-scenes look at his brutal training regime from back in his youth.
Brunson’s dad Rick took it upon himself to train his son in the art of basketball and implemented a strict set of shooting drills to perfect Jalen’s form.
Footage obtained by the Knicks showed the exhausted and exasperated, but undeterred, young baller running through a series of shooting exercises under the watchful eye of his disciplined father.
The elder Brunson can be heard continuously reminding the future pro to hold his follow-through when shooting, even telling him that being 'tired is for the weak' and that he has to be mentally strong.
“Everything you do has to be legit," he instructed his son.
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“I’ll always talk to him and ask him, like, how bad does he want this? How good do you really want to be?” Rick once said.
Jalen affirmed that he was never upset by his dad’s methods and being made to practise in the 'hot-a** sun.'
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“You probably saw how p***** I was at the moment,” Brunson said. "It was more mental than anything."
But, as the Knicks star said himself, 'it all worked out' in the end.
In fact, Rick Brunson's non-negotiable methods provided the perfect training ground for his son.
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Many an elite player has wilted under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden and the raucous cheers from the famously tempestuous New York crowd.
Not Brunson.
He embraces it.
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The slight-of-frame point guard, often the smallest man on the court, has put an entire organization on his back since signing a four-year, $104 million deal from the Dallas Mavericks in 2022.
His relentless determination and underdog mentality perfectly encapsulates The City That Never Sleeps and his hometown team.
New York advanced to the second round of the playoffs last year for the first time since 2013 with Brunson in the lineup.
It was only the second time they've gotten that far since since Patrick Ewing skipped town following a 4-2 series loss in the 2000 Eastern Conference finals.
The Knicks lost to the Miami Heat in six games in the Eastern Conference semifinals last year, but Brunson put himself in rarefied New York air.
He joined Walt Frazier and Ewing as the only players in Knicks history to put up at least 30 points and 10 assists in a playoff game in the Game 4 loss to Miami.
During the Knicks' eleven-game postseason run, Brunson also became only the second Knick to score 20 points in 11 consecutive games, joining Carmelo Anthony (16 games).
This season, he picked up where he left off.
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Brunson scored a career-high 50 points, including a perfect 9-of-9 from 3-point range, in a win over the Suns in December 2023.
It was the first 50-point performance in NBA history without a missed three-point shot (minimum 8 attempts) and he became the first player since Michael Jordan in 1988 to record at least 50 points, nine assists, five rebounds and five steals.
His first All-Star nod soon followed and he ended the season with seven consecutive 30-point games, tying the Knicks' franchise single-season record.
MVP chants broke out on the road when he recently broke the Knicks' 40-year-old franchise record for points in a playoff game.
Brunson dropped 47 points against the 76ers in Game 4 of their first-round series to take a commanding 3-1 lead.
That tally topped Bernard King's previous franchise playoff high (46) set in 1984.
The slippery and tricky operator, blessed with immaculate footwork and an innate ability to absorb contact and finish acrobatically, has revitalised the franchise which his father is still part of.
Rick Brunson played in 69 games with New York and was on the Knicks team that reached the 1999 NBA Finals and lost to the Spurs.
He continues to be in Jalen's ear as an assistant coach on Tom Thibodeau's coaching staff and does his best to keep his son hungry and humble.
Rick even called his son a 'f***ing bum' while he was competing against Damian Lillard, Donovan Mitchell and Trae Young in the 3-point contest during this year's All-Star Weekend.
"Some bald guy behind the bench … I heard ‘Ayo, you f***ng bum!'” Brunson said.
"I said, ‘Who just said that?’ My dad.”
Rick's strict approach to training may have been unorthodox at the time but the younger Brunson has more than reaped the rewards of those routines in recent years.
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Jalen used to stand on the court at MSG wearing a Knicks jersey when his father played in New York.
Now, he does so as the focal point of a New York team striving for its first world championship since 1973.