Mike Breen lauds Jalen Brunson's meteoric rise for the Knicks: "I don't even think his dad realized he was going to be this good"

In his recent appearance on The Mark Jackson Show, ESPN and New York Knicks lead commentator Mike Breen praised Jalen Brunson , acknowledging the star point guard's hard work and dedication that brought him to his position today.

"He changed everything," Breen said . "His leadership, his work ethic, comes to play every night, so unselfish, not afraid of the big moment. He has it all. I don't even think his dad realized he was going to be this good. I mean, to think that he was going to be one of the leading scorers in the NBA, to think he was going to get MVP votes, I don't even think his biggest fans thought that. But it's his work ethic that has got him to this level."

Knicks' cornerstone

Since he moved his talents from Texas to the Big Apple, Brunson seized a sudden meteoric rise that made him one of the league's best.

As such, JB took another major leap in his second year with the Knicks and cemented himself as a bonafide star. As most of his teammates were injured, he willed the Knickerbockers to the second-best record in the East by averaging a career-high 28.7 points and 6.7 assists across 77 games, earning himself an All-NBA Second Team nod and an All-Star selection.

Brunson has been so good that Breen thinks the Knicks have already found the superstar they've been desperately looking to win a championship.

"The Knicks talked about that they need that superstar, I think he's in that conversation right now as one of the elite players in the league because especially, when you saw how some of their key players went down with injuries and every defense was geared to stop them, he's still throwing up 35 points, 40 points on a given night. … When the guy can do it in the playoffs, he has saved some of his best games as an NBA player in the postseason. He did that in Dallas too, and now he's doing it in New York," Breen argued.

Luka already saw something special within JB

Before he seized stardom in New York, Brunson was notably known as a backup for Luka Doncic in the Dallas Mavericks. Yet despite that, the Slovenian sensation already knew from the beginning that JB is more than just a second fiddle. With him sidelined, Luka fully witnessed how brilliant Brunson was during their 2022 first-round matchup against the Utah Jazz in which the former Villanova star broke out and introduced himself.

"That game was really impressive," Luka recalled. "I was just on the bench watching like 'Wow, this guy's amazing.' But just starting the first time we got together, the way he worked out everyday, coming back in the afternoon, it was just amazing to play with that."

Coming from the bottom, the only way has been up for Brunson since then. We can only enjoy his continuing progress in leading the Knicks while authoring an inspiring basketball career.

Related: Kevin Garnett thinks Knicks could challenge Boston next season: "You got a f*****g point guard who's a closer"