Is Jalen Brunson a superstar? Former IHSA player makes his case with NBA playoff performance
Former Illinois high school basketball player Jalen Brunson is becoming an NBA playoff superstar.
The guard from Lincolnshire Stevenson had game-highs with 41 points and 12 assists Thursday night to send the New York Knicks past the Philadelphia 76ers 118-115 and into the second round of the 2024 NBA Eastern Conference playoffs.
Game 6 was Brunson's latest star-making turn. He joined Oscar Robertson as the only player to score at least 35 points with 10 assists three times in a playoff series. Brunson also is the first player since Michael Jordan in 1993 to score at least 37 points in four consecutive playoff games, according to USA TODAY's Jeff Zillgitt.
"He's our engine, we just got to keep feeding off that," Knicks teammate Josh Hart told Zillgitt.
Illinois to NBA champion: The 42 basketball players from Illinois who have won an NBA Finals championship
Where did Jalen Brunson come from?
Brunson, 27, is a New Jersey native who played high school basketball at Stevenson High School, located in Lincolnshire, Illinois, a northern suburb of Chicago. He led Stevenson to the Illinois High School Association state finals three times at Carver Arena in Peoria, including the Class 4A state championship in 2015. He won Illinois Mr. Basketball his senior season.
Brunson chose Villanova over Illinois in late 2014. He went on to three seasons with the Wildcats, helping the program to two NCAA national championships before declaring for the NBA Draft.
This is Brunson's sixth season in the NBA and second with the Knicks. He spent the first four with the Dallas Mavericks, who drafted him No. 33 overall in 2018. He helped the Mavericks to the Western Conference finals in 2022.
From the archives: Lincolnshire Stevenson breaks through with IHSA basketball state title
Is Jalen Brunson related to Rick Brunson?
Yes. Jalen Brunson is the son of former NBA player Rick Brunson, who played nine seasons in the NBA for eight different teams. Rick now is an assistant for the Knicks.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Jalen Brunson played IHSA basketball before becoming NBA superstar
