Jalen Brunson sat at the podium during Knicks Media Day on Monday with no cast, brace or any type of protection on his left wrist.
The captain is ready to go.
Brunson underwent offseason surgery on that wrist to repair a tendon issue. He notably played through the injury during the end of the playoffs en route to winning Finals MVP in spite of it.
“It was painful, but I clearly could play through it,” Brunson said Monday. “Did what I had to do every single day just to make sure I was right.”
Brunson didn’t fully realize the severity of the injury at first, waiting until early July for surgery rather than immediately after leading the Knicks to the NBA championship a few weeks earlier in June. He spent most of the summer in a cast.
“Didn’t think I necessarily needed surgery, so if that was the case, maybe I would have gotten it done sooner,” Brunson said. “So yeah, I was just playing through it, didn’t think anything of it, and I feel good. And we’ll see.”
During Thursday’s “Roommates Show with Jalen Brunson & Josh Hart” block party, the All-NBA point guard said that he is “fully cleared” for training camp, which begins this week.
Speaking with The Post last month, Brunson opened up about the injury and his determination to play through it.
“I just knew that the opportunity rarely presents itself to be in a position like that,” Brunson said at the time. “So I just wasn’t going to let something that seemed minor take me out. Just [do] whatever needed to be done, [then] focus on it afterwards.”
For a well-known workaholic who loves grinding away hours in the gym, the injury affected his offseason routine.
“It’s reminded me a lot about patience, for sure,” Brunson said.
