New York Knicks fans can finally exhale. After watching Jalen Brunson limp to the locker room during the first quarter of Wednesday night’s loss to the Sacramento Kings, the initial postgame update offers a glimmer of hope.
According to The Athletic’s James L. Edwards III, Brunson was seen leaving the Golden 1 Center under his own power. “Brunson walked out of the locker room without a boot or crutches, which is a good sign,” Edwards reported on X.
The scene earlier in the evening painted a much grimmer picture. Just five minutes into the game, Brunson appeared to tweak his right ankle while driving to the basket. He immediately exited the contest with just four points on the board, leaving the Knicks' offense rudderless for the remainder of the night.
Article Continues Below
Without their captain, the Knicks struggled to keep pace with a hungry Kings squad, eventually falling 112-101. While New York (25-14) fought to stay competitive, the absence of Brunson’s steady hand (28.9 points per game this season) was glaring. The loss snapped a positive stretch for the Knicks, but the scoreboard was secondary to the health of their franchise point guard.
Seeing Brunson walk without a protective boot suggests the injury might not be the long-term disaster many feared when he first went down. The Knicks will likely conduct further testing on Thursday to determine the severity of the sprain, but avoiding immediate immobilization is a massive win.
New York will need Brunson healthy if they want to maintain their spot near the top of the Eastern Conference. For now, the lack of crutches is the only stat that matters.