Jalen Brunson Could Be the King of New York. He Just Needs the Crown.
New York City is a little bit different when the Knicks are playing deep into the playoffs.
Rowdy crowds of fans fill the street outside Madison Square Garden, even during road games. Chants of 'Lets go Knicks' build to a crescendo — at Yankee Stadium. And this year, West 11th Street has a name familiar to fans of the team's starting point guard: Jalen Brunson Boulevard.
Last week, after the Knicks shocked and defeated the champion Boston Celtics in the N.B.A.'s Eastern Conference semifinals, the city honored Brunson and his teammates by temporarily renaming some streets after them.
Brunson's No. 11 jerseys dot the sidewalks and bars from the Bronx to Coney Island and well beyond. There was even a Brunson look-alike contest on the steps of the Eighth Avenue post office on Monday.
'He means everything to the city right now,' said Joe Tuman, 38, a sanitation worker from Long Island, who wore a Knicks jersey outside Madison Square Garden on Thursday. This was six hours before the Knicks, facing elimination from the playoffs, beat the Indiana Pacers behind 32 points from Brunson.
'If he ran for mayor,' Tuman concluded, 'I'd vote for him.'
New York has always had an abundant supply of magnetic star athletes who approach royalty in the city — from as far back as Babe Ruth and Jackie Robinson to more recent stars like Carmelo Anthony, Sabrina Ionescu and Aaron Judge, the Yankees colossal outfielder, who enthralls roughly half the city.
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