New York Knicks
Team Leader
Knicks Bulletin: ‘Leon held my son before me’
Source: https://www.postingandtoasting.com/knicks-news/74350/knicks-bulletin-leon-held-my-son-before-me
Go outside. Enjoy the fresh air. Take a minute for yourself.
That’s only because starting next Wednesday, we’ll lock into the Knicks and the season that will bring the chip back to NYC.
Here’s the latest from MB, Mikal, and the Brunsons.
expect ACTION under a Mike Brown coached team️
Coach Mike Brown sits down with Basketball Hall of Famer Ahmad Rashad to discuss the Knicks playing style.
Watch the full feature now: https://t.co/4evz50QVxQ pic.twitter.com/Smcd8UKqeG
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) October 18, 2025Mike Brown
On using an anti-Thibs mentality and not chasing every damn game:
“The biggest thing is, you know, trying to make sure you watch everybody’s minutes instead of trying to chase games. There might be some games that, maybe throw the towel in early.”
On making a final roster decision:
“It’s been a competitive camp and I’ll tell you what, everybody that we’ve had in here deserves to be on the team, so it’s gonna be tough for us. But we’ll make the decision because we have to.”
On Mikal Bridges’ defensive effort:
“If a turnover happens or an offensive rebound happens, he does not hesitate or take an extra step in the opposite direction of the ball. Right away, his change of direction and the flip of the switch from offense to defense is amazing. Probably one of the best I’ve been around. For him to get a couple of blocks the way he did, that’s just a testament to what he can do defensively. I hope everybody is watching those small things that don’t always show up in the stat sheet. He’s a first-team all-defender. It’s evident. There’s no question in my mind what he does out on the floor. It’s a lot of the little things that he does that I hope don’t go unnoticed.”
On team health and development:
“I would love to have everyone together, especially trying to play the way we’re playing with it being new to everybody. But it is what it is and we’ve still got to go and win the game. But the result, whether we had everyone or we didn’t, is for us to understand, hey, this thing is going to be a marathon. It’s not a sprint. It’s not being at our peak on opening night. You’re always hoping and wishing you are, but they’re fighting their tails off. They’re learning quickly. They’re actually a little ahead of where I thought we’d be at this point. But again, the guys that have been out, they’re the key pieces to what we’re trying to do, so they haven’t gotten the reps, and for us to jell together from top to bottom is going to take a little more time than I thought probably because of the injuries, so we have more than capable guys that are ready to play whenever their numbers are called.”
Mikal Bridges
On defensive habits and accountability:
“We emphasize it more. He got me really forgetting the last play and getting back, getting the whole team on that. That’s how it’s supposed to be. He’s encouraging it every single day, putting pressure on us to do it every single time. He’s charting it, getting on us when we’re not doing it. Listening to him, he’s pushing us to the next level.”
On being more comfortable in New York entering this season:
“I feel more at home. Everybody being here, being in this arena, being around all you guys, it feels like home. It’s good.”
Rick Brunson
On Jalen’s lack of effort in a particular high school game:
“He was playing against five guys that look like you. Jalen came out bulls–ting, f–king around. He didn’t play hard. He didn’t compete. Don’t take that uniform off. Meet me at Lifetime Fitness. Right around the corner from the school. Worked him out for an hour and a half. Killed him.”
On critics of his parenting:
“Some parent was like, ‘He’s going to kill that kid.’ Now he wants an autograph.”
On Jalen’s birth and Leon Rose:
“Leon held my son before me.”
On life overseas and finances:
“There was no FaceTime, no Skype, no pictures, none of that sh–. And I remember, I would call my wife, talk about the baby, but you couldn’t call a lot because it was expensive. Back then, I made $45,000. I think I came home with $45. I spent everything. I wasn’t making no money.”
On his first NBA call-up:
“I was in my hotel room in La Crosse, waiting to play a game. I get a phone call, he says, ‘Yo we’re going to call you up.’ I say, ‘Man get the f–-k out of here,’ and hung up the phone. Because we did that to each other all the time, prank you at the hotel like, ‘This is such and such from the Boston Celtics.’ So he calls back. ‘Rick, Rick, Rick, don’t hang up the phone, this is really Jim Paxson.’ He’s like, ‘Kenny Anderson and John Crotty got hurt, we’re going to call you up.’ I say, ‘Go to Connecticut tonight, pack up that apartment, and go take my stuff to Long Island.’ She was like, ‘What if they release you or cut you?’ I said, ‘If I get into this league, I’m never coming out.’”
On surviving the NBA:
“How many people can do that? Come to work every day like it could be your last day?”
On molding Jalen’s mentality:
“Do everything hard. Do everything like it’s your last one. Do everything like you’re playing against the great ones. That’s how I coach. And it’s a mentality. I was always coaching his mentality. ’Cause you don’t know what your skill level is going to be. If I got his mentality, then his skill level can get to where it got to now — and the rest is easy. How many people do you see have a great skill level but a bad mentality?”
On instilling mental toughness:
“I used to tell his mother, there’s something about him. Because I would f–-k with him mentally, and he just would never quit. Because he always wanted to prove me wrong. He always wanted to be better than me. That ate him up that he couldn’t beat and he couldn’t outtalk me.”
On losing to his son one-on-one and calling it a competitive life:
“I’ll never forget. I fouled him, I f—-d him up, and I remember going to his mother, I said, ‘I can’t play him no more. Because I’m going to hurt him.’ Because I don’t think I can beat him no more. And I’m going to get mad. He beat me the last time. And that was it. I would never play him ever again. He kept saying, ‘C’mon man.’ Nope.”
On Jalen’s mentality:
“I can’t say I taught him how to shoot. I taught him how to think. I taught him to be confident. I told him how to be a killer.”
Jalen Brunson
On learning from his father’s work ethic:
“I remember the days in the summertime, him working tirelessly. And it didn’t kick in until later, until I was about 12 or 13, how much it helped me.”
On adapting to change:
“Obviously, it translated to basketball. You’re adapting to situations that you obviously don’t have control of. And so, are you going to sit there and point fingers and say, ‘This is what’s wrong with what’s going on?’ Or, are you going to adapt and get the best thing possible? And that’s what I learned. That’s what I took from growing up and moving all around.”
On outworking others:
“It made me want to outwork them. They had all the God-given talent with how athletic they were and the stuff they can do that were eye-openers. And me, my God-given talent was to just outwork people. And it showed.”
On using intelligence over athleticism:
“Everyone in the NBA jumps out of the gym. Everyone is 6-10 with a 7-foot wingspan. And they use their athleticism. I just try to use my brain and how smart I can be on the floor. And being lefty helps me every step of the way. Obviously, you got to change things here and there, but it’s worked this long.”
BIG L & NAS
U AINT GOTTA CHANCE
OUT NOW
— OnThinIce (@OnThinlce) October 16, 2025
Source: https://www.postingandtoasting.com/knicks-news/74350/knicks-bulletin-leon-held-my-son-before-me
