Knicks’ Jalen Brunson Discusses Handling Pressure of Playing in New York

AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn, File

New York Knicks point guard Jalen
Brunson said he’s already started to mentally prepare for the added
pressure that comes with playing in New York City.

Brunson, who signed a four-year, $104
million contract with the Knicks in free agency, discussed playing in
the country’s biggest media market for one of the NBA’s most rabid
fanbases Friday on The Old Man and The Three podcast (20:45 mark of
video below):

“I mean definitely [I’ve started to
prepare myself]. I mean it wouldn’t be smart not to. I’m
definitely thinking about how everything’s going to be; best-case
scenarios, worst case scenarios. But I think no matter what’s going
on, I just gotta own it.

“If I play bad, I gotta own it. I
gotta be better. If I play well, it’s because of my teammates who
made it easier for me. I just gotta be a person who’s authentic and
owns everything that he does. That’s, I think, the first step to being
a guy who can connect with the fans.”

This article will be updated soon to provide more information and analysis.

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