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After helping lead the New York Knicks to the second best record in the East and winning the NBA Cup MVP, Jalen Brunson earned another award.
Since arriving to the New York Knicks in the 2022 NBA offseason, Jalen Brunson has become the franchise player for the New York Knicks.
Brunson helped lead the team to their first Eastern Conference Finals appearance in 25 years last season, and so far this season, has led them to a 23-10 record.
Most recently, the NBA announced that Brunson is the winner of the Player of the Month award in the East for December.
“Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson have been named the Kia NBA Players of the Month for games played in December,” the league wrote in a statement.
In December, Brunson put up averages of 30.6 points, 7.1 assists, and 3.2 rebounds on 47.5/40.5/82.6 shooting splits, while helping the Knicks to a 10-4 record, putting them now solidly in contention for the top seed in the East.
Jalen Brunson Player of the Month
Brunson getting the honor from the league marks the third time in his career he’s won the award, coming off winning Player of the Week twice already this season. The 6’2″ point guard has been a top player in the league since arriving at the Knicks, but this season, he’s stepped up his game, while New York has continued their winning ways.
Brunson also won the 2025 NBA Cup MVP award earlier in the month, capping off a successful campaign for the Knicks in what was their first trophy since winning the 1973 NBA Finals.
The franchise star put up averages of 33.2 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 5.8 assists on 53.3% shooting in six Cup games, and while he got help from players like Mitchell Robinson, OG Anunoby, and Tyler Kolek in the final against the San Antonio Spurs, he remained the key piece in New York’s championship run.
In 30 total appearances this season, Brunson is averaging a league-seventh 29.4 points per game, along with 3.3 rebounds and 6.6 assists on 48.8/38.9/82.5 shooting splits.
After it was announced that he won the Player of the Month award, Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics wrote ‘Smh’ in a reply on X, perhaps signaling that he thought he was more deserving of the award.
Brunson is now listed as fourth on the NBA’s official MVP ladder for this season.
Knicks Injury Updates For Hawks Game
As the news of Brunson winning Player of the Month dropped, the Knicks are preparing for a contest against the Atlanta Hawks. New York narrowly beat the Hawks by three points just a few days ago in a high-scoring affair, and hopes to have the same outcome as Trae Young remains out.
But for the Knicks, they have some injury concerns of their own. Josh Hart will not suit up, as he’s missed the last few games with an ankle injury. A return could be coming soon, but for now, New York will be cautious in bringing back the rebounding guard, who, so far this season, has been a do-it-all type of player on head coach Mike Brown’s roster.
Karl-Anthony Towns was the latest and most notable addition to the team’s injury report, as he’s questionable for the game against Atlanta with an illness.
Robinson is officially out for the game with an ankle injury. According to Tim Bontemps of ESPN, New York is using the game as injury management for the big man, who has dealt with the health issue for some time now.
Landry Shamet is also set to miss the contest, as he’s been out for a few games after suffering a shoulder injury. The guard did recently return to practice, but hasn’t been cleared for contact, and still doesn’t have a direct timeline for a return.
Eli Gregorski is a sports journalist covering the NBA for Heavy Sports. He has years of sports writing experience covering the NBA, NFL, college football and basketball, international soccer, and Formula One. He graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder, where he was the assistant sports editor for the award-winning CU Independent student publication. More about Eli Gregorski
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