Jalen Brunson’s breakout first season with the Knicks didn’t surprise Allan Houston.
He had seen it coming for years, and played an important role in its genesis.
Houston, who starred for the Knicks for nine seasons from 1996-2005, has worked in the team’s front office since 2008 and currently serves as the vice president of player leadership and development.
Houston and Brunson’s father, Rick, were Knicks teammates for two-plus seasons.
An unofficial member of the team back then, Jalen Brunson ambitiously learned from their every move.
“I’m not gonna say I was surprised,” Houston told William Holley on the WBH Radio podcast. “I was pleased, because we saw Jalen grow up. When Rick, his father, was on our team, we would see him on the court after games imagining being in that moment. He was 6, 7 years old.
“You see this kid, it’s not just a normal like, ‘I’m just having fun.’ You could tell, he was really imagining himself in these moments.”
After Brunson signed a four-year, $104 million deal with the Knicks in July 2022, he averaged 24.0 points and 6.2 assists per game in the regular season last season — both career-highs.
He further elevated his output in the playoffs, scoring 27.8 points per game and carrying the Knicks to the second round while battling a gimpy ankle.
Houston, a gifted scorer and shooter, scored 18.5 points per game in the regular season in his Knicks career and 19.0 points per game in the playoffs.
“When we first signed him, that’s all I could think about, seeing little Jalen,” said Houston, who also created FISLL, a social impact company. “[Brunson] used to mimic [Latrell] Sprewell’s move. He used to mimic my move. He used to pick a certain move from [Larry Johnson]. And he didn’t have a ball in his hand. He would just be out there going through it.”