Just about three weeks after being named the unanimous MVP of the 2026 NBA Finals, New York Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson had to undergo surgery to repair an injury to his left forearm/wrist area.
While it’s unclear exactly when the injury happened, we do know that Brunson was playing through the injury to his shooting arm during the Knicks’ 4-1 series win over the Spurs, which earned them their first title in 53 years. In that series, Brunson averaged 32.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 4.6 assists and put up 45 points on 14-of-27 shooting in the series-clinching Game 5 comeback, which tied an NBA record for a road player in a series-clinching win.
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Brunson did post a 42.1% field goal percentage in the NBA Finals, down from his 46.7% mark during the regular season and one of the five worst shooting percentages for an NBA MVP. While that drew some criticism at the time, we now know that the injury could have played a part in that; although, credit still needs to be given to the Spurs defense. Brunson also shot nearly 39% from beyond the arc and had a 53.6% true shooting percentage, so his overall shooting wasn’t as poor as the field goal percentage makes it seem.
After the win, Brunson admitted, “I’m hurting,” but it was unclear the extent to which that was true. The Knicks’ captain and All-Star will reportedly need about two months to recover and then will be able to resume basketball activities. Brunson is notoriously workout-obsessed, so two months off from doing anything with his shooting hand/arm will be a challenge, but he should be cleared by September, which will likely be more than enough time for him to be ready for the 2026-27 season, which begins on October 20th
