Jalen Brunson arrived as a little lighter for his fourth training camp.
The captain of the Knicks would not reveal his exact weight, but said he dropped a few pounds this summer.
“It was important for me to be a little lighter, just during the course of the season,” said Brunson after training on Friday. “I am not even lighter, I am not so much lighter, certainly more tight and such. But it is just important for me to get my body in the best possible shape that I can and from there.”
With the Knicks this season expects to play at a faster pace, it should only help Brunson to be in weight.
“It’s all about adjusting,” he said.
OG Anunoby already had a relationship with new coach Mike Brown before the Knicks hired him to replace Tom Thibodeau.
Brown, who coached the Nigerian national team in the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo (played in 2021), tried to recruit Anunoby to play for the team.
Anunoby did not come along, partly because of the complications of the event that took place in the middle of the COVID-19 Pandemie, but they stayed in contact.
“I was excited,” he said about Brown who landed the job. “I have known Mike for a few years now. I was excited when I found out that he was the coach. We spoke fairly quickly, just about everything, not even basketball, but no life.”
Brown is pleased to be able to coach him.
“He is really a great guy, a fantastic guy, and he has a personality. Sometimes he leaves it out,” Brown said with a grin. “Sometimes not.”
Later in the year a Brunson sneaker will be released, called the Jalen Brunson X de Nike Kobe 6 “Statue of Liberty”. His mother, Sandra and Bryant’s sister, Sharia Washington, were college volleyball teammates and housemates in Temple.
“It means the world. It means the world for me to be able to wear its shoe and also have a little input about it,” he said. “Really excited to get this chance. His family is great. Just very grateful.”
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