Now that he’s back, Jalen Brunson can laugh about it.
He missed two games with a right ankle sprain, returning on Monday for the Knicks loss to the Mavericks at Madison Square Garden.
The manner in which he suffered the sprain — against the Kings in Sacramento last week — represents one of the few lowlights of his career.
“It’s as embarrassing to say versus watching,” Brunson said after practice on Tuesday. “Just tripping over my own two damn [feet], or one foot, whatever. It’s that simple.”
Josh Hart, who also missed time with a right ankle sprain and says he is not yet at 100 percent, poked fun at his teammate.
“It just bodes to the unathletic claims for him,” Hart said on Tuesday. “I sprained my ankle because I landed on somebody. He was out two games because he tripped over himself.”
But beyond the humor, Brunson’s latest injury raises concerns. It marks the third time he has been forced to the sidelines with a sprain to that right ankle — he missed two games earlier this season and 15 games last year.
And though he didn’t miss any playoff games, there were various times it appeared to pain him during last year’s postseason.
“Obviously I’ve had things with my ankle the past couple of years, or year,” Brunson said. “I’m going to be fine. I’m going to be in the gym and doing all my treatment to get back to full strength.”
Amid this downturn, coach Mike Brown said nothing has changed in how much he’s communicated with owner James Dolan and the front office.
“I talk to management all the time, Leon [Rose] and I talk all the time,” Brown said Tuesday. “Even when we were playing well, we were talking. So that’s not, that hasn’t changed and that’s not going to change. And, same with the players. I’m big on collaboration, and not just with the players, but with the coaches, too. I will take input. At the end of the day, it’s up to me to make the decision on, go that way or go this way.”
The Knicks signed Dillon Jones to a two-way contract on Tuesday. They had a two-way spot open up when they waived Tosan Evbuomwan earlier this month.
Jones, the No. 26 overall pick in the 2024 draft, won a championship with the Thunder last year, averaging 2.5 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists across 54 games.
