Jalen Brunson was fully aware of how much money some people spent to see the New York Knicks finally become champions again. Some tickets during the NBA Finals sold for $US5,000, some for $US50,000, some for probably more.

Of course, Brunson parted with more money than any of those fans.

Brunson is now an NBA champion and NBA Finals MVP in large part because of what he did against the San Antonio Spurs in the finals — though, really, his biggest contribution to this title run likely came in 2024, when he left as much as $113 million on the bargaining table to allow the Knicks the financial flexibility they needed to finish building a championship roster.

It was considered an unprecedented move.

It paid off, as Brunson's Knicks won the NBA Finals 4-1 and Brunson secured the NBA Finals MVP award after his 45 points in Game 5.

Brunson now has a seat at the table of sports kings of New York, alongside the likes of Derek Jeter, Eli Manning, Mark Messier and others. Deliver a championship to the Big Apple and you get celebrated for life.

Brunson doesn't seek attention — in fact, he genuinely seems to dislike it — but such is the risk one takes when he leads a storied franchise to its first title in more than half a century.

There are countless reasons why the Knicks have turned their fortunes around over the past four seasons, but the list starts with Brunson.

New York had four winning seasons in a 21-year span before Brunson arrived. The Knicks have now had four winning seasons in the four years that he's worn the franchise's colours. They've also won eight playoff series with Brunson in the lineup; they won seven series, total, from 1998 through 2022.

He's a bona fide superstar as well, with three consecutive All-Star selections and three consecutive seasons in which he's averaged at least 26 points.

"He's a tremendous player that's skilled, picks his spots, knows his angles, shoots contested shots without being sped up," Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said earlier in the finals. "He's a phenomenal player."

Brunson joined the Knicks in 2022 after leaving Dallas, which didn't offer him a contract anywhere near what the Villanova guard felt he deserved.

And then, two years later, Brunson took far less than he'd earned.

By passing up enormous extensions following that deal, he provided the Knicks with the ability to make other moves that are paying off now.