Jalen Brunson to release children’s book: ‘I’ve been thinking a lot about how I can show kids who might not be the tallest or the fastest, that they, too, have greatness in them.’
https://preview.redd.it/518edgse329h1.png?width=996&format=png&auto=webp&s=a5504725b652b5ac1d255a701eae46ae65f0ce7b
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jalenbrunson1_a-lot-of-people-have-asked-me-over-the-years-ugcPost-7474908590168846336-9bLu
Jalen and the Giant Head
“Two thumbs up 👍🏻 👍🏻” -Josh Hart
One from Josh, one from Josh’s wife
The couple that gooses together, stays together
LMAO
Thumb train
Jalen and the take less money at work so your company can hire better people around you, also having your dad be a coach helps too
That only works in the NBA. No way am I taking less pay so my company can pay others more
I am! If my minimum wage is raised, then the billionaire who owns my company won’t be able to make as much as he does and the company won’t have as much success
What if you take the paycut and the risk for your hard work grants you a massive bonus; and you’re setup for a proper retirement and; you have the power of friendship everywhere you go????
Next time my company offers me a 5-year \(400 million dollar deal, I'll sacrifice like Jalen and take only \)265 million over 4 years
He took more immediate, risk-free money while simultaneously also raising the ceiling on his potential long term earnings. The “less money” narrative is so warped.
Careful
I’m pointing the way!
with the Short Kings
To be fair, I read Jalen Brown wants to write a children’s book at first, and this is infinitely healthier
I like Jalen a lot but I don’t know if we can go around acting like 6’2 is short in the real world lol
As someone that is 5’7” I always root for the “little guys” like Brunson but this cracks me up a bit
Plus, of course, having a former NBA player dad who trained him from the start and had a healthy wallet to keep him focused lol
Yah it’s a little silly. NBA needs another truly below average height guy again. Mugsy and Spud were ballers. It’d be cool to see them dribbling under Wemby.
Isaiah Thomas doing what he did in the modern NBA is the most impressive thing I’ve ever seen. Prime IT is probably the best p4p player ever
prime Steph Curry is very easily the best pound for pound player imo
I’m not sure you understand the term
i do. they are both listed as 185lbs.
and even if you want to include height (which i think is valid), i still think the skill difference is too large for the height difference
Steph is like 6 inches taller. P4P isn’t just weight, it’s height also. Even if Steph was Michael Jordan he wouldn’t be a better p4p player imo. Being an MVP candidate at 5 ft 9 is something we are never seeing ever again.
Pound for pound is LITERALLY only weight and nothing else u regard
pound for pound is a boxing term and has to do with comparing across weight classes. lots of boxers in the same weight class are different heights and different wingspans. it’s often seen as one of the biggest advantages in boxing, just like basketball, and still pound for pound is only comparing across weight classes.
anyways, it doesn’t matter. my opinion is that Steph’s better even with 6 inches weighed into it. i don’t even see what the argument is. if Steph and IT were both Shaq size, Steph would be the best player. and that’s true for any player ever.
The phrase pound for pound always confuses me because Jordan’s playing weight was 215. It can still very easily just be him and not some point guard
Its Chris Paul imo
prime Chris Paul absolutely a problem on both ends, I can get more behind that than IT at any height or weight
but imagine Shaq sized Steph, or Wemby sized Steph. that’s the best player ever, even if everyone else was Shaq sized too
It’s Mugsy and not even close.
Curry is closer to Shaq in height than Mugsy was to Curry.
If Mugsy were an entire foot taller, he’d still have been undersized. Making the NBA at 5’3 is insane much less having a decade long career.
the best p4p player ever
This is an insane take. Allen Iverson was listed at 165 and the level of skill between AI and IT isn’t even remotely close.
IT had two above average seasons and all the sudden people were talking about him like he is some legendary player.
I’m taking cp3 personally but I suppose you could say I’m biased
can we add 14 year journeyman Earl Boykins to the list? Newly learned fun fact, his dad would sneak him into the gym in his gym bag. That’s wild
5’5” Earl Boykins who could allegedly bench 300+
Shorter range of motion I buy it.
Yuki Kawamura is currently below average height at 5’7 on the bulls. Though not as good as the other guys mentioned.
He’s still incredible. Love watching that dude cook when he’s on one. His passing ability is bananas, but he’s also a freak athlete despite his short stature. Build-wise reminds me of a slightly less athletic Nate Robinson.
I’ve loved seeing those soccer/NBA player size comparisons recently. Yuki and Messi are around the same height, which is wild to think about given how small Messi looks on the pitch. It’s always such a treat to watch guys who are at that much of a size disadvantage have success in the NBA. They have to over perform in so many aspects of their game compared to average sized players.
I feel like given enough playing time, Yuki could develop into a legit offensive threat in the NBA, he can get his shot off over 6’10 forwards plus his athleticism is lowkey great like you say
Modern NBA switch defense is just so brutal though, if Yuki was in the league 20-30 years ago I think he’d have a roster spot
Zeke also
He always seemed small but his listed height was 6’1”
6’1” in a time where PGs and SGs were commonly 5’10”-6’3”
Earl Boykins was the most recent below average height guy that did alright in the nba.
Dude could straight ball. Also guys that played against often talked about how surprisingly strong he was.
Isaiah Thomas?? Nate Robinson? JJ Barea?
His Dad is also assistant coach of the Knicks. Mom was a pro volleyball player, trained in law. Like, maybe Jaylen should write a book about privilege.
If you’re ‘only’ 6’2” you can still make it to the NBA. All you need is elite genetics in every other facet, a former NBA father training you, and every financial advantage available to achieve it. A true underdog story 😂
Jalen: “Listen, just cause you guys are short doesn’t mean you need to give up on your dreams.”
“But Jalen, I’m 34 and 5’5”
Jalen: “what the fuck”
Jalen: “Time to learn Spanish or Mandarin buddy”
Brunson: “ew”
In his profession it’s considered short though
His dad was an nba player though. That instantly increases his chances to make the nba by x100 compared to a random person due to so many reasons (financial aspect, training aspect, connections and the list goes on)
it is interesting how the best NBA nepo babies had dads who were like role players/journeymen. not many examples of stars who had kids follow in their footsteps, (bronny, of course, is the exception /s)
Probably because they had to understand the game more to survive in the league, compared to superstars who rely more on their physical talents.
that and the kids of superstars just grew up stupid rich and spoiled because of it. hard to find that insatiable hunger to compete when raised in that sort of environment.
brunson grew up comfortably middle class but non-guaranteed journeymen like rick most definitely did not make anything close to the \(2M/yr they make today. he made like \)4M total career earnings over 9 years whereas shamet’s made $35M already
he made like $4M total career earnings over 9 years
If your parents have made $4 mil by the time they’re 30, you’re not middle class
Upper middle class, it’s not like he is going to make another 4 million after 30.
$4 million puts you in the top 2% of households by net worth. That is still rich.
$4M in the bank ain’t enough to generate meaningful passive wealth, it’s at the top end of the upper middle class. especially when your ability to earn anything close to that completely halts after the age of 30, it’s a very different situation vs. if his dad was an investment banker and only expected to increase those yearly earnings over time.
\(4M in the bank is \)160k passive income PLUS active income (his mom is a lawyer and his dad is a basketball coach). That’s very much upper class, especially if you take the raw earnings out of it and just focus on the size of the safety net. “Oh no, we both get fired, how on earth will we survive on $160k per hear gross?!”
So if we find hungry poor kids and fund them a sport like F1 can reach highs never before seen is what you’re telling me
Worked for Hamilton
I think the reason for this is more statistical than anything else. There are a lot more role players than there are stars, so many more chances for their kids to randomly get the right combination of nature and nurture yielding the right kinds of bodies and minds.
Examples where one player has two or more sons, one of whom is way better than the others, go to show this even more. Think Steph Curry over Seth, or Dylan Harper over Ron Jr. Same parent, very similar genes and upbringing, very different outcomes. Random factors in the remaining variance in genes and environment can explain the difference, but parenthood can’t (unless the parent acted very differently to one child than others, which I guess is possible but unlikely).
I know he’s like the exception, but LeBron understands the game like no other.
He’s a one of a kind player that has never existed before or after. He’s just built different.
He’s been able to combine elite level basketball IQ and interest to learn more with a one of a kind body and work ethic. Just a remarkable talent that we may never see the likes of again.
My only thought is that the actual stars had basically spent most of their time training and doing everything else that came with being a superstar. While role players have much more down time (especially if they play for non playoff teams). No sponsors/ads/commercials and little obligations outside of showing up and playing
Role players living the dream life. I couldn’t imagine being LeBron who can’t go out in public. But role players are living the dream. Generational wealth AND privacy?
tell that to the end-of-the-bench dudes for the knicks currently getting mogged in public anytime they go outside hahah
Probably because there are more role players than superstars, so just more chances
This is a big reason. There’s been like what, 50-100 total superstars in NBA history? Guess it just depends on how you want to define a star.
Yeah honestly the best father son duo is probably the Thompsons, and Mychal Thompson wasn’t even an All-Star. I’d still label him as a role player despite being a number 1 pick. After that it’s maybe the Currys but Dell was firmly a role player (despite having his number retired).
Jelly Bean Bryant, Rick Brunson, etc. weren’t anything special. Can’t think of a kid of a star who has been anything special, they’re mostly like Scottie Pippen Jr. level players at best.
I guess the Boozers could be the first father son duo to both be an All-Star (unless I’m forgetting someone)
He’s famous for being a role player with the Bulls but young, healthy Ron Harper was an all-star level player.
20, 5 and 5 on pretty efficient, for the time, shooting along with great defense.
Ron and Dylan could be the best depending how good Dylan Harper ends up being
Bro who cares he’s trying to inspire children. All they see is that he is the smallest person on the court.
Exactly. It is truly this simple. The commentators of literally almost every broadcast throughout the playoffs brought up how outmatched he was athletically and that he still produced. Is it really that crazy he built a children’s book narrative around that?
A foot of that is excess forehead though.
All that forehead is 100% necessary. That’s where he stores the footwork memory
Helps him keep balanced
I had Villanova staying at a hotel I worked at and checked in the team. I ran into Brunson and he was probably about as tall as me, maybe slightly shorter. His listed height was 6’2. I’m only 6 feet tall.
I think 6 feet is accurate. He’s listed as 178cm on wiki. That’s roughly the size of the average elephant penis.
I hope that’s a helpful comparison, to put his height into perspective.
thanks man, i do agree that your comparison paints the right picture for what we’re talking about
How often are you encountering elephant penises that it makes it a worthwhile comparison?
wasnt he measured 6’1 without shoes? that seems right, and 6’2 in shoes
I was in the same room with him and the Villanova team for an extended amount of time. I’m very skeptical that he’s taller than six feet.
he’s definitely not 6’2” though lol, and adding an inch or two to your height is as relatable as it gets in the real world. like how every guy under 5’9” is 5’9” and every guy over 5’9” is 6’
he was 6’1” barefoot in pre-draft measurements, so 6’2” in shoes
6’1” in the streets, 6’2” in the sheets
6’0 or 5’11 still isn’t short my guy lmao
You’re missing the point of the book. Nobody is acting like 6’2” or even 6’0” is short, but for Brunson and his profession it is. He was overlooked and even written off because of it, but now look. Point of the book is to teach kids that they shouldn’t let anything hold them back from trying to achieve their goals.
The most honest man in the world is 5’11
It’s not about height specifically.
It could be anything that is perceived as lesser or inferior in any field. Not tall enough, not strong enough but also not smart enough or not pretty enough. It will sound cliché as fuck, but he really proved that you can accomplish anything with hard work.
missing the forest for the trees
He’s talkin about the NBA though
The narrative around the league has always been that small guards as #1 option are hard to win with but Brunson says otherwise. Like the last 25 years how many champions won with a small guard leading the way ? I can’t think of any outside of Brunson
Even LeBron on his podcast with Nash said basically if ur a small guard u gotta be a bulldog on defense and mentioned Davion Mitchell
I think there will be a shift in how GMs now look at these players. I like Darius Achoff in the coming draft
This man has never heard of Stephen Curry. On the /r/nba board. I can not believe it.
To be fair, Brunson is 5’10 with a 6’10 head
Messi is 38 years old. People talk about him like he is ancient in his death bed. 38 is still pretty active age.
He’s more like 6’0-6’1 let’s be real. My kids will probably be in that range too. I don’t want them to become NBA players but nonetheless, unless your kids are giants, I think the book would be great because it’s based off a real world story they’ve all seen/witnessed.
Can’t even escape LinkedIn on r/nba
What winning the NBA championship taught me about B2B SaaS sales
how the NBA finals helped grow my SF startup
excited to announce my new role as the nba champion for season 26-27
peer reviewed and published research paper on de-aaron fox’s falloff
OG.ai
How to capitalize on success. A success story.
his dad knows agentic workflows
waiter, waiter, more B2B SaaS please!
Secrets of the Scrum Master: How I applied Agile to my game to win the NBA Finals
Dude is a class act.
Also clearly a deep thinker.
I get shit on sometimes in the grizzlies sub when I mention player interviews like Ja morants first media day appearances and how you can see they’re not smart people with deep thoughts but someone like Brunson is all the proof in the world that it’s worth taking character, mentality, maturity and deep thought seriously.
Imagine if KD was as deep a thinker as Brunson.
KD would be on Lebron’s level of greatness if he had his mentality, that’s the difference between them
but all the lebron haters told me that KD was better than lebron after he joined a 73 win team and was miraculously able to beat him
There is obviously a trade off between world class athlete and dumbass, which a lot of sports scouts (not just NBA) ignore.
You can probably find similar people to Brunson and make a world class team, but it requires a lot of work and won’t be as flashy
And truthfully a lot of execs just don’t want to put that work in
Brunson is interesting to me because clearly he’s a deep thinker but it’s easy to overlook because he’s not as much of a speaker, especially compared to someone like KAT. I’m glad he’s getting the spotlight for it now.
haha, I’m just thinking of what the book would be like if it were similar to how he talked. First few pages blank. “There are no words.” “We just put the work in and kept fighting.” The end.
Shoutout to Clyde whose own children’s book surely had some part in inspiring Jalen to do this.
Good for him, seems like a good guy
Idk
When I went to see Pacific Rim 2, I went up to buy a popcorn and I had just gotten lunch so I didn’t want a big one, so I just got a small popcorn and a beverage
As I went to go get my drink, I heard someone go “couldn’t afford a large?” And I looked and it was Jalen Brunson. I thought he was maybe talking to someone else or I misheard him, so I just went on with getting my drink. But then he like, tapped me on the shoulder and was again like “couldn’t afford a large?” And I went to explain that I just didn’t want one but he was already making a face to me and turning back to his friends and fiancé, chuckling and pointing at my small popcorn
As this is happening, I realized he had a medium popcorn. So I asked him why he didn’t get a large and he said it’s because he’s not a fat ass. And at this point I was just a little taken back because his beliefs on the small and the large popcorn just seemed at conflict with each other. But before I could point it out, he scoffed at me and said “heard pacific rim 2 blows, I’m seeing Sherlock Gnomes, pussy” and idk I haven’t really liked the guy since
This is some pasta I’ve never seen before
This really happened
I want to believe
This really did.
I’m not sure if it’s new, but I’m praying it catches on lmao
It’s a work of art. We finally found a successor to the snickers bar one.
This is immaculate
This is incredible
Someone get a gravy going because boys we have some fresh pasta
Well done.
And then Michael Burry mowed your lawn for $30?
Gem
I was expecting the “huh?” > brunson mimicking “Huh?”, but thanks for this.
hes right about pacific rim 2 at least
How can you hate this guy
Easily, he’s on the Knicks
hate you too bb
as you should, no Kumbayas for the Knicks and I’d expect nothing less coming the other direction
because when he plays my team and I yell “stop him” at the tv it doesn’t seem to work. Additionally, no matter how many times I say “no fucking way” when he launches some spinning jump shot it is in fact, fucking way
Right? Those shots feel fucking terrible on the receiving end. Same with Curry. A falling away shot from the paint going in against my team does not make me appreciate what a cool guy he might be.
I have to imagine that is the similar feeling to when the celtics unleash the 3 point onslaught and suddenly it’s a 15-2 run. Unfortunately sometimes that turns into the Celtics going 0-7 in about 2 min. Equally frustrating
Does anyone actually hate him?
He has ruined the entire month of June for me. I still haven’t mentally recovered.
✋️
Maybe Becky Hammond.
For Detroit he’s worse than Hitler.
Literally what I just said to myself lol
I couldn’t agree more MrPainfulAnal
I think similar to Tatum with Boston, most people hate him just because they hate the Knicks. As a player and a human being by all accounts Brunson seems like a good dude
Dudes such a good role model for kids low-key
“Low-key” is that a short guy joke?!
He’s a good role model period
There’s no “low key”
No hate to Brunson but as a parent celebrity kids books by and large are ass and we need less of them
I do wish it wasn’t literally himself on the cover. You could tell the exact same story with a fictional kid character.
I think it’s more inspirational for kids if its him tbh. Seeing someone real that did it. If this catches on, kids are gonna be asking who Brunson is and watching his highlights. Everyone wants be like Mike, no one wants be like kuruko
Yeah, you just have to be the son of an NBA player and high level basketball coach and play on the most stacked South Jersey AAU team I’ve ever seen.
Signed,
Someone who got smoked by his bs Cherry Hill squad in middle school.
Preordered. I have no kids.
Invite Becky Hammon to write the preface
you’re too small! Said little Becky
Dude is 6’2” talking about being short…
If you’re 6’2” with a daddy who played in the NBA and whose connections let you train with active NBA players, you too can have a shot at getting into the NBA.
Damn the Knicks have two childrens book authors in their rotation now between Deuce and him
Yup, and Deuce did it months after becoming a first-time dad.
Does it start like Steph’s book? Step one: have a pro athlete father.
just wanna appreciate that he used an actual illustrator and not some AI slop
My wholesome fucking goat
Stay tuned for his next book “The Wombat who Jumped into Contact”
Jalen is the man, on the court and off the court. I hope he wins an Olympic gold one day
Crazy that Jalen is tall in the average world but small in the NBA
It’s because Knicks fans can’t read past a 2nd grade level ..
Next up: Einstein writes a book about how you don’t have to be the best mathematician to be a great physicist (but still have to be better than 99.99% of the world)
He’s short for the NBA but still in the top 15% of men heightwise.
I also suspect he’s at least close to the fastest…
Pt 2. Big Head Bigger Dreams
Isn’t he 6’2”? lmao I know thats short for NBA standards but its pretty funny
What a new and unique idea!
yep
all you need is a rich daddy. it’s the NYC way
This is how he recoups the 100 million. 5D chess.
Meanwhile real writers cant get a fucking publisher or deal. Celebrity books are the worst. Yes im bitter.
6’2 guy makes a book about what it’s like to be short…cmon man
I love how NBA players are such genetic freaks.
Jalen Brunson is taller than Justin freaking Jefferson lol and basically the same weight.
Yet he’s considered a small guy in the nba.
Really puts it into perspective.
Steph curry and Julio jones are the same height.
Luka is bigger than megatron lol.
You only need to be 6’2 to relate to him…
awwww 😭😭
Awwww this is so cute, I’m getting it for my little cousins
Between this and Deuce McBride’s updated “Deuce: The Champion of Friendship: Championship Edition”, Knicks kids are feasting
I’m only the 8 trillionth person to say it: but man it’s so fun to watch someone who’s *around* my size dominate a game of basketball.
Foreword written by Becky Hammon
Mate you just beat my team in the finals, don’t you dare make me like you
you too can become a hero
I love how he posts on LinkedIn
He’s 6’2” which is perfectly fine as a guard in the NBA, this whole campaign to make it seem like he’s overcome some disadvantage being “short” in the NBA is ridiculous. He ain’t Muggsy Bogues.
Short kings, we finally eating
Says the guy who’s 98.9th percentile in height and 99.9th percentile in speed compared to the worlds population. 🤣🤣
Not taking away from the guy, he’s small for the NBA, it’s just funny to think about. NBA players are huge.
Only in the NBA do dudes get to talk about how being 6’2” was some kind of difficult experience.
Trust me, it’s much harder when you’re even shorter.
A warrior and a poet bless his soul
Common Jalen W
My man speed running becoming the most likable start of the NBA
Man Jalen is such a good dude, how could you not like this Knicks team? All the players just seem like cool, chill dudes
Brunson is awesome! Also what’s so funny is that while he is small for an nba guard he’s also huge for a normal person (just look at photos of him next to normies)