It was the 1998-99 season when Rick Brunson played for the Knicks during their last NBA Finals run. His son, Jalen, was a staple in their locker room, despite being a toddler. Now, 29-years-old, the same toddler who ran around with the 90s team just won an NBA championship in 2026.

It goes without saying that the Knicks star had a tearful, emotional post-game interview on the court, speaking to ESPN’s Lisa Salters. Brunson delivered 45 points, including 15 in the fourth quarter, earning unanimous Finals MVP accolades. After all the hard work, the player needed a couple of seconds to fight back his tears and speak on camera.

“I have no words,” he said between pauses. “Everything I’ve ever dreamed of. I don’t know what I’m feeling. I’m just like, I’m in awe. Whenever someone counters out, we find a way to come back and do something about it.”

His elite performance earned him as many as 11 media votes following the Game 5 victory. With that, he became only the second New York player to win Finals MVP. But it doesn’t end here.

The Knicks secured their first championship since 1973, which was a dramatic playoff run filled with comebacks, underscoring the personal and franchise significance of ending a 53-year title drought. It was also a personal moment for the Brunsons, as Rick, a former Knick, is also an assistant coach on the team.

They became the first father-son pair to reach the NBA Finals with the same team, nearly three decades apart.

Rick and Jalen Brunson even shared an emotional embrace, and the father gave his ultimate approval for his son’s journey with a kiss on the head after New York won the 2026 NBA Finals. After sharing that moment with his father, JB wrapped a towel to his face, bent down on the hardwood in an emotional moment.

Further, Salters even asked how special the moment alongside his father meant for him.

Again, a long pause; eyes watered up, and silence followed.

Salters helped him, “We can see it.”

Brunson followed it up with, “That’s it. Then we can see it.”

Jalen Brunson gives flowers to his father

Rick is widely famous for his tough love training style, which molded Jalen Brunson into an All-NBA point guard. Viral throwback videos frequently resurface showing the father pushing his son through relentless park drills. The father-son duo appeared on Inside the NBA after the win, where Rick shared what he was most proud of about his son’s journey.

“Just the way he carries himself. The leadership, the winner. He blocks all the noise out outside and just goes out there and does his job.

“When we talk about it. We drive in the car, you dream about it. Never envision this. I have all his trophies. He has not one trophy at his house. I’m gonna get this MVP trophy, too.”

Rick Brunson, for the longest time, kept his son’s trophy with him. This year, NBA Cup MVP, East Finals MVP and the Finals MVP will also be added to that collection. Those training drills and values built him into the player he is today. Jalen Brunson confessed this.

“What he instilled in me as a kid. You never know what’s going to happen if you just continue to work hard. You never know when you focus on just winning, right? You’re not focusing on yourself. You’re not focusing on the individual accolades that you can get. He kind of instilled that in me.”

Before Jalen became a Knick, Rick came in a month ago to be the assistant. And together, they have made history.