Jalen Brunson Speaks About Respecting Opponents Days After Victor Wembanyama Ignored the Knicks in NBA Finals

For the first time in 53 years, the New York Knicks are once again NBA champions. While many rooted for the San Antonio Spurs to win the finals, the Knicks dominated the series 4-1, ending on a high note. Jalen Brunson was named the NBA Finals MVP in his first finals appearance. Naturally, Brunson was in a celebratory mood after beating the Spurs in Game 5 of the 2026 NBA Finals.

While many assumed that Brunson would immediately celebrate with a familiar face, he apparently had to show respect to his adversaries first. The Knicks star recently revealed on CBS Mornings that he approached Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson first before celebrating with his father.

"I hugged and said, 'What's up' to coach Johnson from the Spurs first just to show respect," Brunson shared. "It was just kind of instinct. I guess it's kind of how I was raised. I think, win or lose, you should show respect regardless of the outcome. I got a lot of respect for them over there."

While Brunson showed respect to his adversaries, the same can't be said for the Spurs players. After the final buzzer in Game 5, Victor Wembanyama and the majority of the Spurs players immediately went back to the locker room without shaking any of the Knicks players' hands. Based on several pieces of footage, only Luke Kornet remained with the Spurs coaching staff to congratulate the Knicks for winning the series.

Rick Brunson considers Patrick Ewing the greatest Knicks player over Jalen Brunson

During the same interview on CBS Mornings, Jalen Brunson's father, Rick Brunson, shared his thoughts on who he believes is the greatest New York Knicks player following the team's 2026 NBA championship.

Surprisingly, Rick picked Knicks legend Patrick Ewing over his son, Jalen. In Rick's book, championships aren't his way of measuring who the greatest Knicks player of all time is. What matters to the Knicks assistant coach is how much time and effort a player has invested in the team. Ewing played in New York for 15 years, while Jalen has only played four years so far.

"I would say Patrick Ewing, obviously, is the greatest right now," Rick said about who the greatest Knicks player is. "All-time leading rebounder, points, he has all the stats."

"Pat was the hardest-working guy we had, and he was the best player," Rick continued. "Pat did it for 15 years in New York, Jalen did it for four. I don't rank these players by championships. Pat's always been a champion in my book. Another seven years you can revisit that question, but as of today, the big fella is my favorite."

Based on that logic, there are still plenty of things that Jalen needs to achieve while playing in New York if he wants to be considered the greatest Knicks player of all time. He has yet to win a regular-season MVP award. He has yet to crack the All-NBA First Team. He also has a plethora of stats to catch up on if he wants his name close to Ewing's in the Knicks' record books.