Full-circle moment: Brunsons of New York set to make NBA history
JERSEY CITY, New Jersey — Filipino basketball fans may remember Rick Brunson from his brief stint with Barangay Ginebra in the Philippine Basketball Association.
Now, nearly three decades later, the Brunson name is making NBA history.
When the New York Knicks face the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday morning (Manila time), Jalen Brunson will become part of a historic father-son milestone that connects New York basketball, the NBA Finals and even the PBA.
Rick Brunson, who played for the Knicks during their 1999 NBA Finals run, a few months after suiting up for Ginebra — the most popular franchise in the PBA — watched New York fall to the Spurs in five games that year.
Twenty-seven years later, his son will lead the Knicks back to the championship stage.
The Brunsons will become the first father-son duo in NBA history to each play in the finals for the same franchise.
It is the latest chapter in Jalen Brunson's remarkable rise from second-round draft pick to NBA superstar.
The 29-year-old guard was named Eastern Conference Finals MVP after leading New York past the Cleveland Cavaliers and now has an opportunity to deliver the franchise's first championship since 1973.
For Knicks fans, the finals appearance ends a 27-year wait. For the Brunson family, it represents a full-circle moment.
The matchup also serves as a rematch of the 1999 NBA Finals, when San Antonio captured the first championship in franchise history behind Hall of Famers Tim Duncan and David Robinson.
This year's Spurs are led by another generational talent in Victor Wembanyama.
The 7-foot-4 French star enters the Finals after earning unanimous NBA Defensive Player of the Year honors, a spot on the All-NBA First Team and Western Conference Finals MVP recognition.
San Antonio's journey has been one of the NBA's most impressive turnarounds. The Spurs missed the playoffs for six straight seasons and finished 13th in the Western Conference last year before storming all the way to the Finals.
The Knicks took a different path.
Under team president Leon Rose, New York aggressively rebuilt its roster around Brunson, adding key pieces such as Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart. The strategy has paid off, with the Knicks entering the Finals on an 11-game winning streak.
The championship series also guarantees the NBA will crown an eighth different champion in eight seasons, extending the longest streak of unique title winners in league history.
According to SempreInter, the Knicks are listed at 13/8 to win the 2026 NBA championship at William Hill Sportsbook, slightly ahead of San Antonio entering the series.
Game 1 is scheduled for Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. ET (Thursday, 8:30 a.m. Manila time) in San Antonio.
For Filipino fans who remember Rick Brunson's days with Ginebra, the Finals offer a unique connection to basketball history.
A generation after the father appeared in the NBA Finals and later played before passionate crowds in the PBA, the son now carries the hopes of New York as he attempts to finish what the previous Brunson could not — bring an NBA championship to the Knicks.
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Alder Almo is a former senior sportswriter for Philstar.com and NBA.com Philippines. He is now based in Jersey City, New Jersey, and writes for US-based publication Heavy.com.
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