New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson is open to a WWE match against their playoff tormentor Tyrese Haliburton.
“I’m never gonna say never,” Brunson said on Friday, August 16, during the opening of the three-day Fanatics Fest NYC at Jacob Javits Convention Center. “Maybe we can speak it into existence.”
Brunson and Haliburton made a cameo appearance at the WWE Smackdown at Madison Square Garden back in June.
It was their first meeting since Haliburton’s Indiana Pacers eliminated the Knicks in seven games in the Eastern Conference semifinal, returning from a 2-1 and 3-2 series deficits.
What began as a stare-down between the two Eastern Conference All-Star point guards led to Brunson taunting Haliburton inside the ring with a chair.
Will that cameo lead to a real wrestling match?
Brunson doesn’t rule it out.
The on-court rivalry between the two point guards began last season when Brunson started over Haliburton in the Team USA’s fourth-place run in the 2023 FIBA World Cup. It spilled over the last NBA season where Haliburton was selected an NBA All-Star starter over Brunson.
Their playoff matchup only heightened their brewing rivalry.
Then this summer, Team USA retained Haliburton for the 2024 Paris Olympics, leaving Brunson behind. But even if he was selected, Brunson would not have played since he sustained a broken hand in their Game 7 loss to the Pacers.
Jalen Brunson Honored to be Team Captain
Brunson is honored to become the the Knicks’ 36th team captain and the first since Lance Thomas during the 2018-19 season.
“I was honored,” Brunson told reporters during his introductory presser as the Knicks captain on August 8. “For me, it doesn’t really change anything that I go about doing every single day. I go in, I work hard, I do everything the same, but that fact that I can wear that title, it means a lot.
“To be named captain, that never really crossed my mind. The only thing I try to focus on is how can I help my team win, because I know winning helps everyone else individually. When you win as a team, it helps everyone individually. That’s just been my mindset through it all, and I’ll keep saying it until I’m blue in the face, I’m honored.”
Brunson is coming off his best season in the NBA, finishing fifth in the MVP voting, receiving three second-place votes, one third-place vote, 28 fourth-place votes and 32 fifth-place votes.
He averaged a career-high 28.7 points on 48% shooting with 6.7 assists per game.
Jalen Brunson Comfortable With His Extension
Brunson also revealed his thinking in securing a much lesser contract extension this summer than wait for next year, where he could have signed for $113 million more.
“I think anyone who knows me knows what I’m about,” Brunson told reporters. “I think about every decision that I make, and I’m completely comfortable with what [I’ve] done. … I want to win. I want to win here.”
“A lot can happen in a year,” he added. “Everyone in this room has seen a lot happen in a year when players wait out. Two, I would love to be here, I want to be here for the rest of my career. Winning trumps everything that I do, individually.”
Brunson settled with a four-year, $156.5 million extension, the maximum the Knicks could offer this year. By doing so, the Knicks could duck the punitive second apron over the next two seasons to be able to keep their core which includes Brunson’s former Villanova teammates Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo.
