“You f***ing bum”: Jalen Brunson recalls father Rick Brunson's hilarious jab during NBA 3-Point Contest

New York Knicks star point guard Jalen Brunson came up short in his first NBA All-Star Weekend 3-Point Contest appearance on Saturday. According to the first-time All-Star, his first-round elimination resulted in him being ridiculed by an unexpected courtside critic.

The 2024 3-Point Contest featured several strong performances, as all eight contestants finished with at least 20 points in the first round. That includes four players (Tyrese Haliburton, Damian Lillard, Karl-Anthony Towns, Trae Young) who tied for first place (26 points) and advanced to the tiebreaker round.

So, despite putting up a respectable 24 points, Brunson finished in sixth place.

On the “Roommates Show” with Knicks teammate Josh Hart, Brunson recounted his 3-Point Contest experience. According to the 27-year-old, after his elimination, someone profanely trash-talked him from the sidelines. To his surprise, he turned around to see that it was his father, Rick Brunson.

“I heard some dude behind the bench, some bald guy sitting behind the bench, I heard, ‘You f***ing bum,’” Brunson said. “I was like, ‘Who just said that?’ My dad.”

The prize money for the 3-Point Contest winner was reportedly $50,000. Meanwhile, the runner-up and third-place finishers received $35,000 and $25,000, respectively. According to Brunson, his father was hoping to take home cash for his home renovations.

“He was like, ‘With that bonus, we could have finished my basement,’” Brunson said.

However, it appears that Brunson didn’t take his father’s trash talk too seriously, as he laughed about it while recalling the story.

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Rick Brunson played a key role in Jalen Brunson’s development into an NBA star

Notably, not only is Jalen Brunson’s father one of his biggest supporters, but he’s also his coach. Rick Brunson is an assistant coach with the Knicks and played a key role in the franchise landing his son in 2022 free agency.

Additionally, the former nine-year NBA veteran reportedly used to rigorously train Jalen as a child. That includes him forcing his son to primarily shoot with his left hand.

“I didn’t know that he basically made me keep the ball in my left hand until a certain age,” Brunson told The New York Post. “So naturally, I shot the ball lefty. I didn’t know it was a planned thing that he did when I was younger.”

However, according to Brunson, his father was only hard on him in an attempt to toughen him up.

“His message [to me] is the same, but I guess the approach is different,” Brunson said. “He was trying to make me mentally tough and stuff like that. It’s pretty much the same. In a good way.”

His father’s tough love appears to have paid off, as Brunson has become the face of one of the NBA’s premier franchises.

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