It was a scenario that has played out before.
A championship trophy on the podium. Jalen Brunson flanked by Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart.
It happened at Villanova and it repeated itself Monday night inside Rocket Arena, after the Knicks booked their first trip to the NBA Finals in 27 years.
The three ’Nova Knicks were instrumental in making it happen. That they did it together made it extra special.
“Obviously, these guys have my back, and they’ve always had it,” Brunson said. “I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
Brunson, of course, is the leader, the player who has changed so much for the Knicks since he arrived four years ago from the Mavericks. The team’s captain was named the MVP of the Eastern Conference finals, after averaging 25.5 points and 7.8 assists.
His 38-point performance in the series opener, rallying the Knicks from a 22-point fourth-quarter deficit, set the tone.
“There’s no other guard that I want to be [with] besides JB,” Bridges said.
Hart came aboard in February of Brunson’s first season with the Knicks. The team traded for Bridges after the 2023-24 season, famously giving the Nets five first-round picks to land the two-way wing. Brunson had two players he inherently trusted by his side, two players he had reached the top of the mountain with in college.
They are close to making that same climb in the NBA now. One hurdle remains, against the winner of the Spurs-Thunder starting next Wednesday.
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The trio are unique in today’s NBA landscape. Three players who won big in college after staying in school for three years or more. Bridges was the highest draft pick of the trio, taken 10th overall by the 76ers in 2018.
Then came Hart, 30th overall the year before. Brunson, even though he was the consensus National Player of the Year in college in 2018, wasn’t a first-round pick. But he has proven plenty of experts wrong, emerging as one of the sport’s premier guards.
“It’s something that is surreal. When you’re in college and you’re in that locker room, you know the goal is the NBA,” Hart said. “The percent chance you’re going to be on the same team is very slim. It’s not done. It’s always something you talk about and dream about, but you know reality is it’s almost impossible. So the fact it actually came to fruition is super cool.
“I know the time these guys put in, I know where their hearts are, and we already share a bond and brotherhood for life. This is just another [chapter]…. You keep adding memories, these are memories we’ll have for a lifetime.”
When it was brought up that they previously won championships together, Brunson opted to poke fun at Hart, his close friend.
“To be correct, me and Mikal won two, and Josh won one,” Brunson cracked.
They still joke like old college buddies.
