19 years later, LeBron James and Jalen Brunson have full circle moment as All-Star rivals
A heartwarming full-circle moment emerges just ahead of the All-Star Game, featuring King James and the "King of New York."
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A pic from 2006 All-Star games of a 10-year-old Jalen Brunson with LeBron James is going viral
The NBA is full of numerous Cinderella stories, airborne highlights, and full-circle moments. Over the years, fans have witnessed many such moments, and now we have another to add to the never-ending chronicle.
Ahead of the NBA All-Star weekend, a photo from the 2006 NBA All-Star Game in Houston has resurfaced online and gone viral. The image shows a young, up-and-coming LeBron James posing for a picture with a child who would eventually become the next “King of New York.” Wearing a Houston Rockets jersey, a 10-year-old Jalen Brunson is seen fanboying over King James.
Fast forward to 2025—almost 19 years later—Brunson gets named as a starter for the Eastern Conference in the 2024-25 All-Star Game. This marks a significant milestone for the 28-year-old guard, as he now has the opportunity to go head-to-head with someone he likely idolized while growing up.
Full circle moment. 📸
— NBA (@NBA) January 24, 2025
Jalen Brunson took a picture with LeBron at the 2006 NBA All-Star Game.
They were both named NBA All-Star Starters in 2025.
(via @jalenbrunson1) pic.twitter.com/5SbTxgnUwT
This year, Jalen Brunson has found his pace and continues to lead the Knicks to the promised land with his perpetual progress. Since landing in New York City, Brunson has been playing some of the best basketball of his career and has the hands of time on his side. With the addition of Karl-Anthony Towns to the roster, the Knicks now have a real shot at the championship.
Currently holding the third seed in the Eastern Conference, the New York Knicks have won 29 of their 45 games so far. With expectations running high this year in the Big Apple, it will be exciting to see what this season of the NBA has in store for Knicks fans.
Jalen Brunson criticizes media for shaping selective narratives
On one of the recent episodes of their Roommates Show podcast, Jalen Brunson expressed his frustration with the sports media and journalists for painting a particular picture to his teammate and co-host, Josh Hart. Dragging the Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic to get his point across, this is what the King of New York had to say.
Jokic is playing absolutely absurd. His numbers are crazy, right. (But) they’re not seeded where they were last year, and people are still talking about him like being the MVP, right. Individually, he deserves it, but when Luka was averaging damn near a triple-double, but their seed was nowhere people wanted to be, they were like, ‘Oh, he shouldn’t get the MVP because of seeding…I’m just like, why do certain narratives work for some of them people?
Jalen Brunson remarked
Brunson exposing the media: “Jokić is playing absolutely absurd, but they are not seeded like last season, and people are still talking about him like being the MVP. When Luka was averaging damn near triple-double, they were like ‘oh, he shouldn’t win MVP because of his seeding’. pic.twitter.com/Qrdd2JGvY7
— SLO HOOPS FAN 🇸🇮 (@SloHoopsFan) January 12, 2025
These comments came after Brunson dropped 44 points in front of the home crowd. This season, he is also dishing out the highest assists of his career, averaging 7.3 per game. After beating the Brooklyn Nets today, the Knicks have the Sacramento Kings on their schedule this Saturday.
The All-Star weekend is still three-weeks away and the altered format this year is sure to change the dynamics of the exhibition. The 2025 NBA All-Star Game will be held at the Chase Center in San Francisco on Sunday, February 16, 2025. Stay tuned in to watch if this full-circle moment will play a part in fueling the competitiveness of the NBA-All-star games.
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Prateek Athanur
(2950 Articles Published)