Jalen Brunson #11 of the New York Knicks talks with his father and New York Knicks assistant coach Rick Brunson during the game against the Philadelphia 76ers in Game Two of the Eastern Conference First Round Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on April 22, 2024 in New York City.
Jalen Brunson and his dad, Rick Brunson of the New York Knicks.
Jalen Brunson was born to play basketball.
Born on Aug. 31, 1996, the New York Knicks star is the son of Sandra and Rick Brunson, who also played for the Knicks and is their current assistant coach.
Brunson is a New Jersey native who grew up in a family of athletes. The Villanova alum's parents both played college sports at Temple University, where they first met. Brunson was taught the importance of discipline and dedication from a young age. Since he was a kid, his parents emphasized the quote, "The magic is in the work," which became his mantra.
"They had it on the wall, in my mirror when I woke up," Brunson told ESPN of the words his parents instilled in him as a young athlete. "They had it in my lunch bag for school. They just made sure I saw that quote."
In May 2025, Brunson and the Knicks are playing in the team's first conference finals since 2000, and now, his dad — who played for the Knicks the last time the team made the NBA Finals — will be coaching him on the court.
Read on to learn more about Jalen Brunson's parents, Sandra and Rick Brunson.
Rick is an assistant coach of the New York Knicks
Assistant Coach Rick Brunson and Jalen Brunson #11 of the New York Knicks talk during the game against the San Antonio Spurs on March 29, 2024 at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas
Assistant Coach Rick Brunson and Jalen Brunson #11 of the New York Knicks talk during the game against the San Antonio Spurs on March 29, 2024 at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas
Rick is currently an assistant coach for the New York Knicks, where he works alongside his son Brunson. Prior to being hired with the team in June 2022, he coached various teams in the NBA.
From January to April 2007, Rick was an assistant coach with the Denver Nuggets before spending a couple of years coaching in the NCAA. In September 2010, he returned to the NBA as an assistant coach for the Chicago Bulls. He also spent time assistant coaching the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Rick has coached Brunson his entire life, though he now does so on a professional level. CBS Mornings asked the Knicks star if it was hard differentiating his father's roles as "dad" and "coach" as a kid, to which he admitted, "At first, yes."
When Rick used to ask his son if basketball was what he "wanted to do for a living" when he grew up and Brunson told CBS Mornings, "The answer was always 'yes.'" He added, "No matter what mood I was in."
Rick is a former NBA player and trained Jalen as a kid
Rick played in the NBA for nearly a decade, a career that spanned several teams including the New York Knicks in 1998. He finished his ninth and final season with the Houston Rockets in 2006.
Due to his time in the NBA, Rick's knowledge and experiences helped him shape his son into the athlete that he is today. Brunson said his dad would ask him if basketball was what he "wanted to do for a living" as early as the seventh grade.
When speaking the CBS Mornings, Brunson explained the analogy his father would use when training him in the sport as a kid. "He also always used to say, 'If a teacher gave you a study guide for a test, you'd take the study guide, prepare and take the test,'" Brunson recalled. "'Well I am the study guide. I have taken the test. You going to listen to me or not?'" he continued.
Brunson admitted his father's thought process "makes sense" now — but as a kid, he said he was "annoyed that he's right all the time." He added, "But he's right."
Sandra is a former volleyball player
Jalen Brunson with mom SandraJalen Brunson with mom Sandra
Jalen Brunson and his mom, Sandra Brunson.
Sandra was a student athlete at Temple University and played for the school's volleyball team. According to the New York Basketball X account, her college roommate was Kobe Bryant's sister.
Brunson has inherited his parents' athletic genes and voiced his appreciation for them in a May 2020 interview. "Thank you for my athletic ability because without you I wouldn’t be able to jump as high as I do,” the basketball star told his mom.
"Obviously my dad handled the basketball portion of it, handled like the working out portion,” Brunson added of Rick. “But my mom handled, legit, everything else."
He explained, "She was the general. She held me accountable for everything I did. If I was putting my mind to something I couldn’t quit until it was done. She basically gave me that no-quit mentally."
Rick taught Jalen disciple through sports
Jalen Brunson #11 of the New York Knicks talks with his father and New York Knicks assistant coach Rick Brunson during the game against the Philadelphia 76ers in Game Two of the Eastern Conference First Round Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on April 22, 2024 in New York City.
Jalen Brunson #11 of the New York Knicks talks with his father and New York Knicks assistant coach Rick Brunson during the game against the Philadelphia 76ers in Game Two of the Eastern Conference First Round Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on April 22, 2024 in New York City.
Rick was sure to train Brunson physically, but also mentally as a kid as he strived to play in the NBA.
"I would say to Rick, 'I'm afraid he's not going to like basketball soon," Sandra told CBS Mornings. "And it wasn't so much Rick pushing him. It was more so Rick trying to embed the discipline the disciple that it takes."
Meanwhile, Rick said he "never felt that" he pushed his son too hard. "I would always talk to him about how bad did he want this. 'How good do you want to be?' His answer... he wanted to be great," the NBA coach said.
Brunson pointed out a few training methods he endured growing up. "He made me work out in the hot, summer sun... with a weight vest on," he said of his dad's workouts. "His motto was, 'If you could shoot here, you could shoot anywhere.' It was more mental than anything.'"
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Sandra is co-founder of the Second Round Foundation nonprofit
Jalen Brunson and Alison Marks; Sandra Brunson A Night of Covenant House Stars Gala, New York, USA - 22 May 2023
Jalen Brunson and Alison Marks; Sandra Brunson A Night of Covenant House Stars Gala, New York, USA - 22 May 2023
Brunson may be a star pro athlete, but he makes time to give back to those in need. Sandra and the Knicks player co-founded the Second Round Foundation, a nonprofit that "plants seeds to create equity for young people through education, sport and community."
The foundation's mission is to "empower young people to determine their own success, regardless of background or circumstance," according to its website. Since its inception, the non-profit has launched various campaigns including the One Family program and its Jalen Brunson Patriot Wellness Initiative.
Sandra doubles as the Second Round Foundation's CFO. She is also the president of the Brunson-founded JMB1 Enterprises.
Rick knows how to separate 'coach' and 'dad' duties
Assistant Coach Rick Brunson talks to Jalen Brunson #11 of the New York Knicks before the game against the Indiana Pacers on February 10, 2024 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York.
Assistant Coach Rick Brunson talks to Jalen Brunson #11 of the New York Knicks before the game against the Indiana Pacers on February 10, 2024 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York.
Brunson knows how to differentiate Rick's roles of "dad" and "coach." In a June 2023 NBA interview, the Knicks player revealed the "most important thing" he's learned about his father.
"He's the most loving, caring father that I could ever ask for me and my sister — but when he's a coach, he's a hard-nose coach. He wants the best put of me, he's going to push me," Brunson explained. "He's going to keep pushing me because he knows I want to be the best that I could be."
The athlete added, "That's the most important thing. Once I learned that, life became a lot easier and I began working even harder."
Sandra and Jalen share a close bond
Sandra and Brunson share a close mother-son relationship. The basketball player opened up about their special bond during a May 2020 interview.
"She is like my best friend, she is my best friend, 100 percent," Brunson said of Sandra. Meanwhile, Sandra described her bond with Brunson as "unbreakable and a blessing."
Elsewhere in the interview, Brunson thanked Sandra for everything she's done for him to date. "Thank you for sacrificing pretty much everything for myself and my sister," he said.
"I really do thank you for loving me every single day and being there every single day and allowing me to annoy you every day that I can," he continued. "I truly love you with all my heart.”
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