In just about any other year, Aaron Judge would’ve been the unquestioned king of New York sports. You put up 53 home runs, 124 RBIs, and hit .331 with a .688 slugging percentage and a 1.144 OPS?
That’s not just elite - that’s all-time Yankee greatness. Bigger numbers than even his 62-homer MVP campaign in 2022.
And when the Yankees were fighting for their postseason lives, Judge delivered again, launching a thunderous shot off the leftfield foul pole against the Blue Jays that felt straight out of a baseball movie. It was his Roy Hobbs moment, and it gave Yankee Stadium one more night of hope.
But even with all of that, 2025 belonged to Jalen Brunson.
Because what Brunson did wasn’t just about stats - though he had plenty. It was about impact.
It was about making the Knicks matter again in a way they haven’t in decades. It was about taking the city’s sports spotlight and holding it with both hands, night after night, possession after possession.
In a year where Judge was great, Brunson was unforgettable.
He didn’t just lead the Knicks - he became the Knicks. No. 11 on the jersey, No. 1 in the city. It was his team, his time, and his town.
This is New York, where the sports crown shifts depending on who’s hot, who’s winning, and who’s got the Garden buzzing. The Yankees have worn it plenty, most recently in 2024 when they made it back to the World Series.
The Giants have had their moments, too - those two Super Bowl wins over the Patriots still echo, even if they feel like they happened a lifetime ago. But in 2025, the Knicks took over the city.
And Jalen Brunson was the reason why.
There was something electric about the Knicks’ playoff run last spring. It wasn’t just about wins - it was about the feeling.
You had to be watching. You didn’t want to miss a second.
The Garden was alive again, and so were the streets outside. It was the kind of run that unified the city - Yankees fans, Mets fans, Giants, Jets - they all came together under one banner: Knicks basketball.
Leon Rose built the roster, and Tom Thibodeau coached the life out of it. Brunson had help - the team had moments where they looked like a throwback to the glory days, especially in that second-round series against Detroit and in their battles with Boston. But through it all, it was Brunson who carried the torch.
And if there was one moment that captured everything, it came in Game 6 against the Pistons.
Series on the line. Game tied at 113.
Five seconds left. Brunson, guarded by the athletic Ausar Thompson, backs him down, gets ready to cross over.
Everyone in the building knows who’s taking the shot. Everyone watching at home knows.
And then - bang. From the top of the key.
Cold-blooded. Clutch.
Classic.
That shot didn’t just send the Knicks to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 25 years - it sent the city into a frenzy.
Tom Thibodeau summed it up perfectly afterward:
**“He’s at his best when his best is needed, and he’s done it all year.
That’s what makes him special.” **
And then there was Mike Breen on the call, delivering the kind of moment that will live forever in Knicks lore:
**“…Brunson puts up the three…….. BANG!
….. BANG!
…. Jalen Brunson hits the three!
…..” **
You didn’t need to replay it. You felt it. It was one of those rare moments in sports where everything - the crowd, the call, the player - all hit the same perfect note.
Breen, who’s seen it all sitting courtside next to Walt “Clyde” Frazier, knows what makes Brunson tick. As he said later:
**“The amount of work (Brunson) has put in over the years was built for that moment. He feels no fear about taking the big shot, whether he misses or not.
The confidence comes out of the work he’s put in day after day and year after year. In his own humble way, he understands his responsibility.
He won’t talk about it, or admit it. He just knows.”
**
That’s what separates stars from leaders. Brunson doesn’t chase the spotlight - it finds him because he’s earned it.
And now, with a new coach in Mike Brown and MVP talk starting to bubble, Brunson’s already setting the tone for the next chapter. Just the other night, he dropped 47 on the Heat - a reminder that the story’s far from over.
New York is a city that lives for moments, for heroes, for players who rise when the lights burn brightest. In 2025, Jalen Brunson gave the city all of that and more.
His game, his grit, his poise - it brought the Knicks back to life. And for one unforgettable stretch, it made them the biggest show in town again.
It was his ball. His Garden. His year.