Wrestling is a sham, you say? Don’t tell that to New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson.
Brunson got his revenge against Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton at Madison Square Garden earlier this summer, leading the fan-favorite LA Knight to a victory over heel Logan Paul on a late-June edition of “WWE Smackdown.” The showdown came just over a month after Haliburton’s Pacers eliminated the undermanned Knicks in the Eastern Conference semifinals of the NBA playoffs.
Brunson and the Knicks will get a chance to get their revenge on Oct. 25, when the Pacers face off in the 2024-25 MSG opener. But when Brunson participated in a Knicks-themed panel at Fanatics Fest this weekend, emcee Kazeem Famuyide asked Brunson if he and Haliburton were going to put the pros aside and fight for real.
Fans may have to wait, but Brunson hasn’t completely shut down that prospect.
“I will never say never” Brunson said with a smirk“I’m just going to… maybe we can speak it into existence. Maybe we can.”
Brunson, a huge wrestling fan who called his appearance on “SmackDown” a “dream,” was likely in his prime at Fanatics Fest, which featured plenty of WWE-themed exhibits and guests. His teammate and speaker Hart further fueled the newly appointed captain’s love of the show by brandishing a Knicks-themed championship belt over his shoulder as he took the stage at the Javits Center.
The Knicks panel, subtitled “Bing Bong” in honor of the battle cry of the Manhattan faithful, drew one of the largest crowds of the event and also featured Knicks legend and broadcaster Walt “Clyde” Frazier as well as superfans Spike Lee and Ben Stiller. All greeted Brunson as he entered, as it was the point guard’s first public appearance since he was officially named the 36th captain in franchise history earlier this month.
Although the series against the Pacers ended in heartbreaking fashion, Stiller suggested that Brunson’s return from injury in Game 2 of the series at MSG was his generation’s version of the Willis Reed game, which saw the late metropolitan icon take the court for Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals despite a painful hamstring injury. His brief appearance proved impactful enough to guide the Knicks to victory and their first NBA title.
“When he came out against the Pacers, we were down by 10, and when he came back in the second half, everybody went crazy,” the “Zoolander” star recalled. “To me, that epitomizes the spirit (of Knicks basketball).”
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