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Jalen Brunson has been the driving force behind the New York Knicks first NBA Finals appearance in the last 27 years, but during Game 1 of this highly anticipated series, Jalen Brunson suffered from 2 separate lower-body injuries, both due to contact made by the San Antonio Spurs.
Jalen Brunson’s Right Knee Injury (Late 1st Quarter)
The 1st injury occurred during the 1st quarter, when Spurs forward Harrison Barnes fell directly onto Jalen Brunson’s right knee after being bumped by Brunson’s teammate Landry Shamet. All 3 Players were trying to get a rebound, but Barnes ended up falling onto Brunson, causing him to fall.
Jalen immediately grabbed his knee, showing clear signs of pain, and ended up having to limp to the locker room. When hobbling to the locker room, he required an evaluation by the Knicks’ medical team, and all fans thought it was very serious. Turns out, he avoied and serious injuries and ended up returning shortly after, being able to play through it.
Jalen Brunson’s Ankle Injury (2nd Quarter)
After returning from the knee issue, unfortunately, Brunson suffered another injury, but this time it was due to his ankle. After landing funny when he was going up for a layup, he was seen holding and grabbing his ankle. Even though he stayed in the game, he was seen limping during the review of the play.
The reason why the ankle injury is so scary is that Jalen has a well-documented history of right ankle sprains, including some that have happened before and during the playoffs, all of which he had to miss at least 1-3 games with, adding to the concerns.
Jalen has already shown toughness by playing through both issues in the first half, but the Knicks were already dealing with injuries to Mitchell Robinson and OG Anunoby, and against the 2nd best team in the NBA and the best player in the league in Wemby, the Knicks need everything they can get.