Tom Thibodeau likens Jalen Brunson's work ethic to Patrick Ewing: Patrick wasn't running around telling people how hard he worked"

jalen-brunson–tom-thibodeau

The New York Knicks finished their regular season campaign with a 120-119 OT win over the Chicago Bulls. The victory was New York’s 50th of the season, marking the first time since the 2012-13 campaign that the Knickerbockers won at least 50 games. After the top-seeded Boston Celtics, they were the only other team in the East to win at least 50 games this season.

Looking back, it isn’t hard to say that the Knicks’ success this season has been because of the play of guard Jalen Brunson. Brunson has been nothing short of spectacular for the Knicks this year since he arrived in the Big Apple.

According to head coach Tom Thibodeau, it’s the product of a work ethic that resembles that of one of the greatest to ever don the Knicks jersey.

“When we first signed him, I knew, and obviously they’re different people and different players, but it reminded me of Patrick,” said Thibodeau,”I remember when I was hired for the first day, in the middle of the summer, it’s 9 o’clock in the morning and Patrick’s already in and he’s on a full lather. And Patrick wasn’t running around telling people how hard he worked, we saw it everyday.”

Ewing was one of the greatest Knick ever

Patrick Ewing was one of the best players to ever represent the Big Apple in the NBA. He was the first-ever top pick in the Draft Lottery era and one of the greatest centers of all time. Although Ewing was a very talented player when he entered the league, he was also one of its hardest workers, making him an even better superstar.

Meanwhile, Brunson came to the Knicks via free agency. At first, many felt that the Knicks overpaid him because no one wanted to play for the Knicks. And instead of getting a true superstar, they were getting a pseudo-star in Jalen. But Brunson has proven all of his critics wrong, and in his second season in New York, the Knicks have shown a dramatic improvement.

“So if you just came into the organization, you say ‘This is the way we do things’. And I think the same holds. As soon as we signed Jalen, it was immediately into the gym. You can come in any day of the summer and he’s in at the same time, you know full speed, great concentration, and there’s no fake-a-gram or Instagram or what do you call it? And I think that sets the tone for your team.” added Thibs.

The Knicks are the No.2 seed in the East

Brunson earned his first all-star nod this campaign. But after Julius Randle got hurt, many thought the Knicks would fall in the standings after a great start. But they didn’t. New York rode Brunson the rest of the way, and, as a surprise, they finished as the No.2 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

On Sunday, when a win would make them No.2 and a loss would see them at No.3, Brunson carried the Knicks in a hard-fought 120-119 OT win over the Chicago Bulls. The 6-2 guard finished with 40 points, his 11th 40-point game of the season. Interestingly, in a single campaign, he tied Ewing’s record for the second-most 40-point games by a Knicks.

This season, Brunson led the NBA in 30 points and 10 assists games with 6. He is also tied with the most 30-point games this season with 36. His 40-point game tally is also tied for 2nd most this year, while he finished 3rd in total points scored with 2,212. Brunson is also third in scoring at 28.7 PPG, and 5th in three-pointers made with 211. As they say, nothing beats hard work.