Patrick Ewing makes honest admission recalling Jalen Brunson’s special bond amid his meteoric Knicks impact

Patrick Ewing opened up about his relationship with New York Knicks captain Jalen Brunson in a courtside interview in 2024. The Knicks legend said in the interview that he had known the lefty guard and his family for years. Ewing has kept an eye on the All-Star for years.

In an interview with Etan Thomas in The Rematch Show, the Hall of Famer gave details of his relationship with the current Knicks star.

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“I’ve been knowing him since he’s been like 2 (years old). He was two years old when his dad was bringing him around us. I took the Knicks to Jamaica on a vacation. I remember seeing videos of little Jalen with my little kids just walking around the islands, and my daughter Randi carrying him around on her back.”

Rick Brunson, Jalen Brunson’s father, spent nine seasons in the NBA, nearly three of them with the New York Knicks. Brunson and Patrick Ewing were on the same Knicks team that lost the 2000 Eastern Conference finals (ECF) to the Indiana Pacers. The aging superstar center knew Jalen since the then-youngster was two.

Ewing coached Georgetown from 2017 until 2023. He said in the interview that had he known the younger Brunson would be good, he would have recruited him “back then.”

From coaching against Jalen Brunson (Villanova) in college, the legendary center is now rooting for the point guard to lead the Knicks to an NBA championship.

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Before Jalen Brunson, the last Knicks team to reach the Eastern Conference finals featured Patrick Ewing

The last time the New York Knicks reached the Eastern Conference finals was in 2000, when they lost to the Indiana Pacers in six games. Patrick Ewing was in his 16th and last season with the team that drafted him in 1985. In the series against the Pacers, the big man averaged 14.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game.

25 years later, the boy Ewing took to Jamaica led the Knicks back to the ECF after beating the Boston Celtics 4-2. Jalen Brunson and Co. sent home the defending champs to earn the right to face their traditional rivals, the Indiana Pacers.

Over two decades ago, Patrick Ewing’s last hurrah with the Knicks ended with a loss to the Pacers. Brunson hopes to push his team past the same rivals who also denied them an ECF appearance last year following a Game 7 loss at Madison Square Garden.