Getty Ali Marks and Jalen Brunson attend the 2023 Night of Covenant House Stars Gala at The Jacob K. Javits Convention Center on May 22, 2023 in New York City.
Jalen Brunson tied the knot with his high school sweetheart Ali Marks on Saturday in Chicago with his New York Knicks and Villanova teammates in attendance.
RJ Barrett was spotted dancing with Josh Hart and Brooklyn Nets star Mikal Bridges at the after-party.
Mikal Bridges, RJ Barrett & Josh Hart at Jalen Brunson’s wedding
Former Villanova coach Jay Wright posted his warmest greetings for the newlyweds on Twitter with the video clip of his 2016 national championship team players — Brunson, Hart, Bridges and Phil Booth — reveling after the wedding ceremonies.
Former Knicks guard Ryan Arcidiacono and the team’s free agent pickup, Donte DiVincenzo, and their other Villanova teammates were also in attendance.
Villanova pulled up to Jalen Brunson’s wedding including Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, Donte DiVincenzo, Ryan Arcidiacono, Eric Paschall, Phil Booth & more
Knicks’ two-time All-Star forward Julius Randle, who is on track to recovery from the arthroscopic surgery on his left ankle last June, was all smiles in a beautiful black and white photo with his wife, Kendra.
Kendra & Julius Randle at Ali & Jalen Brunson’s wedding in Chicago
Brunson’s moves on the dance floor were as smooth as his plays on the court.
Someone come get @jalenbrunson1
But Brunson’s honeymoon, though, has to wait as he and Hart are set to join the Team USA’s training camp in Las Vegas starting on Aug. 3, Thursday, in preparation for the 2023 FIBA World Cup later in the month.
Steve Kerr to Rely Heavily on Jalen Brunson in World Cup
Team USA head coach Steve Kerr envisions Brunson to be a focal point of their gold medal quest in the 2023 FIBA World Cup in Manila, Philippines, next month.
“I will definitely go into this with a vision of Jalen Brunson taking on a pretty big role given the way he plays, his success at the FIBA level in past tournaments, Kerr said in a Zoom call with reporters last July 7.
The 26-year-old rising Knicks guard is coming off a career season in his first year in New York. He put up career highs in scoring (24.0) and assists (6.2) while also hitting a career-best 41.6% from deep. He further raised his level of play in the playoffs and was almost unstoppable against the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
In 11 playoff games with the Knicks, Brunson led them in scoring (27.8), assists (5.6) and steals (1.5).
Knicks to Extend Josh Hart in $75 Million Range
According to New York Daily News’ Knicks reporter Stefan Bondy, Hart is expected to sign a lucrative four-year extension after he opted into his $12.9 million option for next season.
“The word on Hart’s extension, which will be delivered in August, is in the range of four years, $75 million,” Bondy wrote.
Hart was expected to command an average annual salary of around $17-18 million if he became an unrestricted free agent. But his decision to opt in kept the Knicks under the luxury tax, allowing them to use the midlevel exception to sign DiVincenzo to a four-year, $50 million deal.
Hart hopes to rekindle the sparks of their Villanova championship run in New York with DiVincenzo and Brunson.
The 28-year-old Hart has been impressive since arriving at the trade deadline. He sparked the Knicks’ march to the playoffs as they went 17-8 in their final 25 games. Hart produced 10.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 3.6 assists in 25 regular-season games while shooting 58.6% from the field and a 51.9% clip from three-point range off the bench.