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This doll is clutch.
A Knicks fan went viral this week for pampering her Jalen Brunson doll, and scoring the team good luck in the playoffs with “reverse voodoo.”
Manhattan nurse Rachel Kim affectionately refers to the plushie as “Lil’ Jalen,” and before Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, iced and rotated the doll’s ankles in a TikTok video — mindful of Brunson’s March ankle sprain, which caused him to miss 15 games of the regular season.
After Captain Clutch ended up scoring 39 points that night — leading the Knicks to a 121-113 Game 4 win against the Boston Celtics and giving them a 3-1 lead in the series — Kim’s video racked up over 380,000 views, and countless comments from fans thanking her for the victory.
“IT WORKED!!!” one fan commented, while another proclaimed: “You made this happen”
“I was laughing so hard reading everything. Everyone is thanking me. People are like, ‘She’s an angel from above,’” said Kim, 30, who graduated from Villanova University with Knicks shooting guard Josh Hart in 2017. Brunson is also a ‘Nova alum.
“I thought the doll was so cute and so I was just playing around and trying to be funny. I didn’t think anything huge would happen like this.”
With only 40 seconds left in Game 4, Kim posted a follow-up video giving the Brunson doll a “well-deserved ice bath” — which caught the attention of Brunson’s sister, Erica, who commented “OMG” with three laughing emojis.
The next morning, Kim posted herself in a car on her way to work with the caption “Casually going back to work after carrying the Knicks last night. And yes, I’m Ubering because I feel I deserve it.”
“Someone was like, ‘The city of New York should reimburse you,’” said Kim, a Long Island native who now lives in New Jersey.
Fans are now begging her to continue with the TLC until the Knicks bring home the NBA Championship.
“Everyone is telling me that I have to continue this,” she said.
“Honestly, the pressure is on. I feel like I do have to continue this.”
Before Game 5, she did her due diligence by checking the doll’s heart with a stethoscope, bandaging his legs and even giving him a “little R and R,” complete with cucumbers over his eyes and a scrunchie in his hair. Despite her best efforts, the Knicks lost 127-102.
Because of all her hard work, Kim was awarded two tickets to Friday’s Game 6 from StubHub, however she and her husband, Baron, are in Paris for their honeymoon.
She did bring Lil’ Jalen along to the City of Lights, where he decompressed before Friday night’s game by relaxing by the Eiffel Tower, resting in a Hermes bag and eating croissants.
The Parisian treatment worked — Brunson scored 23 points in Game 6, helping the Knicks crush the Celtics 119-81, and taking them to their first Eastern Conference finals since 2000.
