Getty Immanuel Quickley of the New York Knicks walks off the court after the loss to the Charlotte Hornets.
Following an offseason filled with numerous transactions, the New York Knicks are coming into the 2022-23 campaign with a revamped and what many expect to be a much-improved roster.
While there are certainly a large number of returning talents, found within head coach Tom Thibodeau’s ranks are several newcomers looking to make a significant impact during their first season in orange and blue.
Easily the most buzzed-about player who landed with the Knicks this past summer is point guard Jalen Brunson, who inked a four-year, $104 million deal with the club during this year’s free agency period.
Playing a position that New York has struggled to find stability in for the better part of the last two decades, with the arrival of Brunson fans and media pundits alike are hoping to see a much higher level of efficiency coming out of the team’s backcourt throughout the upcoming season.
Now, while the 26-year-old and the rest of this new-look rotation have yet to play a lick of meaningful minutes together, as their regular season doesn’t start until October 19, already it seems that the top-billed free-agent point guard has established a strong relationship with some of his new teammates.
Just recently, Brunson was seen having fun with fellow backcourt talent Immanuel Quickley at a post-practice media session on October 10, playfully throwing shade at him as the third-year guard asked how he feels about “having every finishing package, every layup imaginable in the paint” despite measuring in at just 6-foot-1.
Quick approached Jalen to ask him a question, and his reaction was hilarious 😂
After responding with an emotionless retort of “next question,” the two walked off from the camera’s view laughing and embracing one another.
Brunson Already Shining With Knicks
Outside of personal relationships in the locker room, Jalen Brunson is also seemingly establishing a rapport with his teammates on the hardwood as well.
Despite having played in just two preseason games, the Knicks’ newcomer has already shown flashes of what could be to come during his first season in New York, as he finds himself boasting per-game averages of 16.5 points and 4.5 assists on 52.3% shooting from the floor and 40% shooting from distance thus far.
Throughout this period, the club is currently undefeated and has outscored their opponents by an average score of 124-105.
And while there are many reasons why the Knickerbockers have performed so well, Brunson’s impact on the game has certainly caught the eye of his new head coach, as Thibodeau went as far as to say during a post-game press conference on October 4 that the fifth-year talent’s contributions and efforts have been ideal for what he believes the position requires.
“I loved the way he can control and manage the game,” Thibodeau told reporters about Brunson. “To me, that’s the number one function of a point guard.”
During that same presser, Thibodeau would also go on to state that he thought the team’s “big three” of Brunson, RJ Barrett, and Julius Randle “played off each other really well,” which is what many hoped would be the case when Leon Rose and company stole the guard away from Dallas this summer.
Quickley Praises Knicks’ Big for Recent Play
During the Q&A portion of New York’s October 9 open practice held at Columbia University, Obi Toppin asked teammate Immanuel Quickley what his “favorite Garden moment” was, and the guard gave some serious love to a play in which the third-year big man had executed the night before in their second preseason game against the Indiana Pacers.
“My favorite Garden moment is when you went in between the legs against the [Indiana] Pacers last night.”
The play Quickley is referring to is what could be argued as one of the best in-game dunks in recent memory, as the Knicks’ power forward pulled off a between-the-legs slam on a breakaway play that was sparked by him blocking the shot attempt of Kendall Brown late in the third quarter.
Toppin would finish the night with a tremendous stat-line of 24 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 blocks on 71.4% shooting from the floor and 57.1% shooting from deep.