For the past month, Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks has been the talk of the basketball world in the Big Apple. This hasn’t stopped when he received a recent gift from another famous New York sportsman.
Brunson received a signed pair of cleats from Aaron Judge, the former AL MVP of the New York Yankees, along with a statement encouraging him to “keep running the city,” as SNY reported on X (h/t Ben Stinar of Fastbreak on SI):
Those are very strong words of support from the person who is undoubtedly the face of New York sports right now. Judge is one of the MLB’s most feared hitters right now, if not the most. He leads the major leagues in a number of stats, including home runs (35), RBIs (89), and runs scored in the 2024 season.
The Yankees, who are only two games behind the top-seeded Baltimore Orioles in the standings, are guided by the Fresno State native to an incredible 60-44 record and the third overall spot in the American League. This year appears to be the Yankees’ finest opportunity in the Aaron Judge era to win a World Series.
Despite his extensive resume of achievements, the three-time Silver Slugger winner chose to honor the franchise player of the Knicks by elevating Brunson to the position of leader in New York sports. After competing for the 2024 NBA MVP title and established himself as a great scorer with 28.7 points per game during the campaign, Brunson undoubtedly brought a contagious energy to the city last season.
