Jalen Brunson dad is Rick Brunson, a former NBA guard who played 9 seasons in the league and is now an assistant coach for the New York Knicks.
The father-son duo has a long basketball journey. Rick had a lot of a hand in the growth of Jalen’s basketball career.
- Rick Brunson played nine NBA seasons after going undrafted in 1995.
- He was a member of the Knicks’ 1999 NBA Finals team.
- Rick is currently an assistant coach for New York.
- After retirement, he has given coaching to several NBA franchises.
- His relationship with Jalen is one of the best father-son stories in the NBA.
If you’re a true fan of the Knicks, then you may have seen two Brunsons in the same game. One is making 30 points every game, scoring impossible 3-pointers, and freezing Madison Square Garden for a moment.
The other Brunson is outside the court, standing on the sideline, watching everything. That’s Rick Brunson. And honestly, his story is almost as interesting as his son’s.
A lot of NBA dads become proud spectators once their kids make it to the league. Rick Burnson took a different route. He stuck around. He started as a player, then became a coach, and now he is part of the Knicks team to help his son become a basketball superstar.
This is like a dream come true for a guy who wasn’t even drafted.
Rick Brunson Had to Take the Long Road
Long before anyone knew the name Jalen Brunson, Rick Brunson was trying to make his own career in the NBA.
He grew up as one of the top high school players in the country and earned McDonald’s All-American honors in 1991. He even shared Co-MVP honors in the all-star game before going to Temple University.
Then came the 1995 NBA Draft. Nobody picked him. That would have been the end of the story for a lot of players.
Instead, Rick packed his bags and kept on grinding. According to Times of India, he spent time playing in Australia and the CBA before his NBA break with the Portland Trail Blazers in 1997.
Also Read: Julius Randle Trade: Why the Timberwolves Moved Their All-Star Forward
The NBA Career Most Fans Forgot About
Rick wasn’t an All-Star. He wasn’t the face of a franchise. He wasn’t selling jerseys across the country.
Over nine seasons, he played for eight NBA teams: the Trail Blazers, Knicks, Celtics, Bulls, Raptors, Clippers, SuperSonics, and Rockets.
According to The Sporting News, he appeared in 337 career games and made 51 starts.
His best season came with the Clippers in 2004-05, when he averaged career highs across the board and started 39 games.
Rick was part of New York’s 1999 NBA Finals team. At the time, nobody could have imagined that decades later his son would help lead the franchise back into the championship race.
The Guy Behind Jalen’s Basketball Education
Jalen Brunson was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, in 1996. That means he was barely a year old when his dad made his NBA debut.
Rick’s career moved the family around, which exposed Jalen to NBA locker rooms, practices, and players from a young age.
Rick became his son’s first basketball teacher. He helped him organize workouts, worked on basics, and pushed Jalen to give 100% to the game. Those lessons became a major part of Jalen’s career as he grew into a top recruit, a Villanova star, and eventually an NBA All-Star.
Also Read: NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani Responds After Jeff Bezos Backs Tax Plan
Does Jalen Brunson’s Dad Coach the Knicks?
The answer is yes. Rick is currently an assistant coach with New York. He joined the team in 2022, just weeks before Jalen signed with the team in free agency.
But Rick’s coaching résumé was already full by that point. After retiring in 2006, he moved into coaching and worked with the Nuggets, Bulls, Bobcats, Timberwolves, and Knicks.
As Men’s Journal pointed out, he also made a connection with Tom Thibodeau and worked with him in both Chicago and Minnesota before joining New York.
Even after Mike Brown took over as head coach, Rick was on the staff.
The Jalen Brunson Dad Controversy
It goes back to the year 2024. That year, the NBA asked Rick about his compensation from the Knicks when he got a promotion within the franchise.
The story caught the eye because of the obvious connection between Rick’s role and Jalen’s arrival in New York.
Another controversy followed Rick during the 2026 NBA Finals. According to Bleacher Report, Knicks coach Mike Brown revealed that Rick left a message during Game 1 against the Spurs. He said:
“We were all bitching too much at the officials. Rick Brunson was great. He told me to shut the hell up, and he told the rest of the team to be quiet and leave the officials alone.”
How Old is Jalen Brunson’s Dad?
Rick Brunson was born on June 14, 1972, making him 53 years old in 2026. He’s also slightly taller than his son. Rick is listed at 6-foot-4, while Jalen stands 6-foot-2.
Also Read: GOP Star Vivek Ramaswamy Wins Ohio Governor Nomination
More Than Just a Basketball Dad
It’s easy to look at Rick Brunson and see him as the father of a Knicks superstar. But his basketball story started long before Jalen became famous.
He went undrafted, fought for a place in the NBA, played nine seasons, reached the Finals, and built a coaching career that has lasted nearly 20 years.
Now he’s helping guide the same franchise his son helped transform. Not many basketball families get a story that comes full circle like that.
