Knicks savior Jalen Brunson will be front and center as title team is celebrated on Opening Night

“Most importantly, I just want to be myself … I’m not a savior in any way shape or form. I just want to be able to contribute to the team and try to help this team win games.”

Jalen Brunson said the quote above shortly before his first regular season game with the Knicks. Tonight, he’ll play his 285th regular season game in New York. Despite all evidence to the contrary, Brunson still wouldn’t call himself a savior.

But the ring on his finger and the banner hanging above his head Tuesday night will say it for him.

Brunson is a forever athlete in New York. He will be celebrated as a savior for the rest of his career and long after that.

Tonight will be a chance for fans to celebrate what he and the Knicks accomplished last spring.

And after the celebration, Brunson and the group will be ready to turn the page on the pomp, circumstance and parties. They all understand what’s ahead.

But hopefully they can all take one moment Tuesday to soak in the adulation from fans in the building.

It will be pouring out of the Garden rafters as players/coaches/execs get their rings and the banner is raised.

“You’re going to have a lot of people in there that are shocked, still can’t believe it actually happened,” Carmelo Anthony said in an interview with SNY at an American Express Tip Off event in Manhattan on Monday night. “I think it’s going to be very emotional. I think you’ll see a lot of tears in there.”

You probably won’t see Brunson overly emotional tonight. He’ll get his ring, watch the ceremony and then get ready to play LeBron and the Sixers. On to another season full of challenges and adversity.

Brunson and his team are ready for the challenge. Hopefully they can take a few moments to soak in the moment before they get down to business.

"I think it's having a real plan, a real strategy. Being able to have a vision on what type of team you want" At the AMEX Tip-Off event, Carmelo Anthony joined @IanBegley to discuss why the Knicks were able to achieve success under Leon Rose https://t.co/AjbvL4zHkO

— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) October 20, 2026

Something worth noting from preseason/training camp: the Knicks have been impressed by two-way guard Jaden Akins. His play and approach to his craft have not gone unnoticed by the organization. The Knicks are optimistic about his future. Something to keep an eye on as the team navigates the second apron. New York will not spend above the second apron threshold in team salary, per owner James Dolan. Unless that stance changes, the club will need to find young players on team-friendly deals who can impact winning. Based on early feedback, it sounds like they think Akins has a chance to be one of those guys.

Detroit and Jalen Duren eventually agreed to a $200 million contract in the offseason. But it took a while to get there.

There was speculation that Duren would take the qualifying offer this season for $9.6 million and become an unrestricted free agent next season. Some analysts questioned whether Duren would actually pass up the $200 million offer from Detroit and take the risk of playing this season out on the qualifying offer. But it turns out that Duren’s stance was not an empty threat.

According to league sources familiar with the matter, certain steps were taken over the summer for Duren to take the qualifying offer; those steps included the purchase of a sizeable insurance policy against potential injury. Obviously, things ended well for Detroit and Duren. But he was certainly preparing to play the coming season on that qualifying offer.