Much like many greats in sports, Jalen Brunson’s NBA dream began early. In fourth grade, he passed up Knicks tickets because he wanted to be around his father’s team as a ballboy, not sit in the stands. By eighth grade, he had already told his father he wanted to make the league, and he spent years grinding through film sessions and training to get there. Now, at the age of 29, that dream has turned into a milestone that puts him above the star once seen at the top.

On Monday, Brunson swept the Cavaliers 4-0, ending New York’s 27-year postseason drought and sending the Knicks back to the NBA Finals. He anchored a 130-93 Game 4 blowout that sealed the series at halftime and marked the first Eastern Conference finals sweep since 2012. Jalen also became the first unanimous Eastern Conference finals MVP in NBA history, while James Harden’s struggles made his rise look even sharper.

Jalen Brunson’s historic individual honor was confirmed after a nine-member media voting panel — which included analysts such as Doris Burke (ESPN Radio), Stefan Bondy (New York Post), Fred Katz (The Athletic), and Richard Jefferson (ABC/ESPN) — unanimously cast all nine votes in his favor.

This milestone carries profound historical context for a franchise that has spent nearly three decades in an endless cycle of front-office and coaching dysfunction and regular-season rebuilds. The last time the Knicks reached this stage, current core pillars Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns were not even five years old.

What changed was roster construction: Brunson arrived in 2022 as a free agent and steadily rebuilt the franchise’s identity around his unflappable late-game command, while the mid-season acquisition of Karl-Anthony Towns gave New York a second offensive anchor that prior Knicks rebuilds never had.

By guiding first-year head coach Mike Brown’s squad to a flawless 4-0 sweep, Brunson has officially exorcised decades of postseason ghosts and positioned New York just four wins away from its first championship since 1973.

Jalen Brunson finished the night with the Eastern Conference Finals MVP award and the Larry Bird Trophy in hand, with Walt Frazier the one to present it. It was a fitting stage for a star who keeps turning big moments into personal milestones.

“It’s an honor to be here in this city and this organization,” Brunson said, sitting next to former Villanova teammates Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges. “I wouldn’t trade it for the world. We’re still writing our story, but I like the journey that we’re on right now.”

Mike Brown saw the edge in Brunson right away after taking over last summer. By the time the season rolled on, Brunson had Brown tweaking his sleep habits because the 29-year-old kept attacking morning shootarounds like they were playoff games.

“Their quiet strength, all the time, is what they all have in common,” Brown said. “Jalen’s work ethic is off the chart and he makes me adjust because he goes so hard every day. When your leader is that way, it’s easy to be a coach.”

The Knicks built around that kind of drive, bringing in Bridges and Hart through trades and adding Towns from the Minnesota Timberwolves as the final piece. Now that the core four is four wins away from giving New York its first NBA title since 1973.

Of course, the defining narrative of this series wasn’t Brunson alone. Some of the spotlight was stolen by the Cavaliers, especially by their star trade-deadline acquisition.

Cleveland acquired Harden at the deadline, believing his veteran playmaking and isolation scoring could stabilize their offense in high-leverage playoff possessions – a calculation that collapsed spectacularly.

What was supposed to be a tactical boost for James Harden became a nightmare.

Harden finished the series averaging more turnovers (4.8) than made field goals (4.2) per game, shot 34% from the floor, and posted a series net rating of –31 — the worst marks of his 17-year career in a playoff series. Once again, James Harden walks away from the playoffs defeated, and what the numbers confirm is a new low in a 17-year career.

Jalen Brunson’s achievement reflects James Harden’s struggles

The Knicks-Cavaliers series was fundamentally defined by the completely opposite trajectories of the two starting guards. While Brunson effortlessly dictated the pace and play of every game, The Beard endured a catastrophic stretch that culminated in an unfortunate career low.

Following the Game 4 blowout, Harden officially went winless, swept in a playoff series for the first time in his 17-year NBA career, a distinction that stings further because he is one of five players in history to have made the postseason every season of his career, placing him alongside champions like Magic Johnson and Tim Duncan.

Harden is one of five players in history to make the postseason every season of their enduring career. But being in league with Magic Johnson and Tim Duncan, actual champions, is not as great as it should be.

As one practical Cavs fan confided before Game 4, James Harden and performing when needed have never been in the same sentence. Playoff Harden is nonexistent unless it’s to make more turnovers than field goals.

Historically known for at least stealing a game or two in his prior postseason exits with Oklahoma City, Houston, Brooklyn, and Philadelphia, Harden’s tenure with the Cavaliers reached its absolute nadir in his 17th playoff appearance.

The contrast on the floor was stark. Mike Brown showed his cards right after Game 1, declaring they’re targeting James Harden’s known weakness.

Specifically, Brown tasked Brunson and Towns with exploiting Harden’s well-documented inability to navigate off-ball screens on defense – a flaw that 17 playoff appearances and a revolving door of coaches have never corrected.

As it happened, 17 playoffs have not made Harden fix his most visible flaw. Kenny Atkinson, to his detriment, never found a way to hide it either. Harden’s regular-season offensive caliber completely sputtered, resulting in a frustrating series defined by more turnovers than field goals.

While Cleveland’s frustrations boiled over on the sidelines, highlighted by Donovan Mitchell’s heated halftime huddle tonight, the Knicks put on a masterclass in roster synergy.

Brunson’s steady presence kept the Knicks executing flawlessly while Harden left a trail of chaos for the Cavs to stumble on across four consecutive games. With this dominant sweep in the books, Brunson has rewritten the history books for New York, leaving James Harden and the Cavaliers to face a summer of existential questions about their roster.