Jalen Brunson's mom, Sandra, writes him a letter before his first game as an NBA champion.

It feels like yesterday that I was 25, working as a paralegal in New York City up at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, and pregnant with my baby boy. Your dad was playing basketball in Australia at the time, and he'd begged me to come with him for the season. But I was stubborn. I knew I didn't want to have my baby in another country ... so I stayed home, and you were born in New Jersey. And you were perfect.

I was lucky as a new mom, where even with your dad overseas I still had a lot of help. Your grandparents were always around, and they loved to spoil you. I remember those first two weeks, you literally doubled your weight. Like you got so chubby that I was WORRIED! But you grew into it. As soon as you could walk, your dad put a basketball in your hands ... and as soon as you had one in your hands, you wouldn't let it go. We'd be eating breakfast, eating dinner, working around the house ... and no matter what, you'd be over there on the floor, just dribbling that ball. I tried to tell everyone it's too much....... I was like, Enough already!!! He can't do this all day every day. But whenever I'd try, your grandfather would just give me this look. And then in his thick Jamaican accent he'd say, "Let him bum di ball . Let him bum di ball . Let him bum di ball . It's fine ."

So I let you do your thing ... and you kept bummin' di ball . Sometimes it got us into trouble. I remember at one of your dad's first home games with the Knicks, when you were three, we were in the family room at the Garden and you were dribbling up and down the floor. Everyone thought it was so cute ... but not me. I knew what a demon you could be with that basketball. So I was trying to smile, while in truth I was beyond nervous. I mean, Jeff Van Gundy's wife was there, Allan Houston's wife ... it was everyone. And they're all egging you on and of course you're loving it. Until you take one too many dribbles, and the ball goes SPLAT right onto a table, right on someone's plate, and their food is flying everywhere. At the time, since we were new, I was so embarrassed! But I look back on those moments now, and I see them for what they actually were - what every moment has always been when you have a basketball in your hands: pure joy.

It's like that saying goes, "Find a job you love, and you'll never work a day in your life." Except I think you may have taken it to heart a little sooner than you're supposed to. Because you didn't just fall in love with the sport of basketball as a kid..... you also fell in love with the job of being a basketball player . I always laugh when I think about you at five, six years old, mimicking your dad and his teammates. Whether it was perfecting Allan Houston's jab step, or Larry Johnson's "Big L" celebration ... or it was making me cut your t-shirt sleeves into the "muscle shirts" that Knicks players were wearing back then, or cut my trouser socks into tiny armbands ... or it was packing a duffel bag filled with Gatorade bottles, sneakers and a uniform, just like the one your dad would leave with on game days, so you could "leave" for your own games (in the house or on the driveway) ... you always had such an attention to detail.

But it wasn't just that cute stuff. I remember when you were in kindergarten, your dad was on the Blazers, so his games would usually start at around 10:00 p.m. our time. You didn't care. You refused to sleep until you'd not only watched the game (had to be live), but also talked to your dad and given him notes. "You missed this shot," "you made a nice pass here," whatever you'd noticed. And when you could be at his games in person, all you ever wanted was to be chasing rebounds, folding towels, getting water for the players, helping out in some way. I'll never forget when you were in fourth or fifth grade, we were living in South Jersey at the time, and one of your classmates had Sixers tickets and he asked if you wanted to go. You said no thanks. I thought to myself, That's such a nice offer...... why doesn't Jalen want to go?? And it was at that moment that I realized something: You didn't want to attend a basketball game just to sit in the stands. If you were going to be around it, you wanted to be a part of it . You wanted to work . And as I think back on your journey now, I'm struck by how deep your sense of PURPOSE has been ... how you've always known exactly what you want out of the game.

And how you've always been willing to work for it, so you've never been willing to settle for less.

I've also been thinking a lot lately about my favorite tradition of ours.

It started when you were a sophomore in high school.... Dad got a coaching opportunity with the Bobcats, so he was moving to North Carolina for the season. And I knew how much you were gonna miss him, especially on game days. So I wanted you to have a little extra support in those moments. Which led me to an idea: The night before every game, I would type up some words of encouragement on the computer and print them out. Then the next morning, before you woke up, I'd tape the message to your bathroom mirror, and the refrigerator, and even put a copy in your lunchbag ... any place where you could reflect on the words I chose. And eventually that just became our pregame ritual.

We kept it going throughout high school.......... and what a high school career you had. Leading Stevenson to its first-ever boys' basketball state championship as a senior!!!

But I think your college career is when the tradition really took on a new meaning. Our family decided to move east to be nearer to you at Villanova, but I'd stayed behind at first to close out our house back in Illinois. Which meant that when I got to see you play college ball for the first time during that preseason, you'd already been there for a couple of months. And while I barely remember what happened in that game, I remember talking to you after. I think I mentioned a tough call that didn't go your way, or some missed free throws where you'd looked frustrated, or something like that. And your response ... whew ... it really stuck with me. You sort of slouched your shoulders a bit, and you said, "Mom........ not you, too."

As soon as you said that, it was like this lightbulb moment for me as a parent ... where I realized, you're hearing it from EVERYONE now when it comes to the basketball stuff. Your dad, your coaches, fans, haters, media, social media. So the last thing you needed was to also hear it from me. And from that point forward I said to myself, No rehashing anything that happened on the court. What he needs from me is simply to BE THERE for him. As his mom. And after that, not to brag..... but I think you and I kind of locked in. We had to switch from printouts to texts, of course, since you weren't living at home anymore. But we figured it out. And (give or take a few delays, and a few close calls!!!) I've texted you ahead of every game you've played in since.

One thing I love about our tradition, Jalen, it's how I can trace the entire journey you've been on over these last 15 years, just from the themes of what I've written to you. Like in high school, I felt so protective ... with you being highly touted, opposing players and coaches would often talk about how, If we stop Brunson, we're good. So I'd send you quotes on teamwork, as a reminder that basketball is a team sport, and it's never all on you. In college, you became such a brilliant leader ... so I'd keep it simple, with messages like, Good luck, son, LEAD your team to victory!!! Then when you got to the NBA, suddenly you weren't in a leadership role anymore ... and there were times where you might not even play!! So my messages were more about showing patience, having discipline, and remembering your love for the game. Then your last year in Dallas ... let's just say ... a theme from those messages was "knowing your worth." And your first year in New York? I guess I went full Mama Bear, keeping every receipt from all the people questioning your contract, or doubting you could be a star.

Finally, in June ... I almost still can't believe it ... I got to send you NBA FINALS texts! And in the best way possible, those texts felt like a culmination of everything that had come before.

We take one possession, one quarter, one half, and one GAME at a time. You and your teammates had to wait to find out your opponent ... and with that comes patience, discipline and confidence. Confidence that you can handle whatever comes your way. When they make it about you, make it about the team. Play YOUR game........ When you control the pace, your teammates thrive off of your energy. Find a way and leave no doubt.

June 10th, before Game 4 in New York ... and after a certain shove:

When your opponent tries to bring out the worst in you, you rise above and get the job done. We find a way.

And last but not least ... June 13th, before Game 5 ... the night you guys made history:

Good luck tonight, son..... There is much to be said about this opportunity. Every time you take the court is another opportunity. You and your team can seize this moment ... and may it live on forever!!! Leave no doubt.

I'll tell you about one other text message ... this time, one I received. It was from my fellow NBA mom and friend, Linda Shanklin, who most people will know as Andre Iguodala's mom. She sent it the day after you guys won the championship, to congratulate me on everything. And she gave me a piece of advice, as someone who'd been through this experience before. She told me to savor and enjoy your accomplishment ... and that October will arrive quicker than I can imagine. I remember reading her message at the time, and that last part not fully registering with me. But of course she was right. I feel like I blinked, and the summer flew by...... and now it's about to be Opening Night.

And I guess I wanted to write you this, Jalen, because I know what your nature is. You take your responsibilities so seriously, and you're so dedicated to your work. After the celebration ended in June, I actually think our first conversation wasn't even about your amazing victory ... it was you asking me a logistics question about your youth camp in Chicago later that month! So I know that your instinct is always going to be to get back to business...... and I know that as soon as the season starts, you're going to be focused on bringing Knicks fans another championship. But you're still my baby boy, so you still have to listen to me. And I'm pulling the Mom Card on this one, and demanding that you let yourself enjoy the moment tonight. This is NOT just another game day...... which is why I'm not just sending you another pregame text.

Because tonight, you'll be playing basketball for the first time as an NBA champion.

It's funny, but I remember when you signed with the Knicks, one of the things that people would say about you is that you were some kind of "nepo baby." (I told you, Mama Bear kept receipts!) That somehow your dad had gotten you a job with the team. And I always thought that it was ironic in a way. Because the truth is, for all the fond memories I have of the Garden, and of your dad's time there..... I won't lie: That was a stressful time. I won't try to claim we were struggling. We were very fortunate, and had a lot more than most. But being a journeyman, or the family of a journeyman, is not an easy basketball life. You're living contract to contract ... you're moving around constantly ... you're spending months apart ... there are just so many little uncertainties that come with trying to make it on the margins of the league. So when I said that I was "nervous" in the Knicks' family room back then, I wasn't joking! We were never anywhere long enough to not feel nervous.

But if there's a silver lining to life on the margins, it's that you find out who people really are ... because there's less for them to gain from treating you well. And there were so many people in New York who treated us well. Treated us like family, to be honest. We walked into that family room, and you might as well have been the son of the franchise player! Like, I swear ... not once did I have to show a credential when I was there with you. There was genuine kindness for us. And I'll tell you something about being a mom..... When someone shows kindness to your kid? You never forget it.

So it's hard for me to even put in words, Jalen, how gratifying it's been to watch as you've come into full bloom over these last few years. And how meaningful it is to me that you've done it in that building, with that team, for that city.

I'm not sure if I've ever told you this ... but your first season after you signed with the Knicks in free agency, it was surreal. It was like every time I'd go to the Garden to watch you play, I would reconnect with someone from our past. Former players, employees who were still with the team, fans who'd been there since the '90s. And every conversation always went the same. They would tell me, not just how they're so happy a player helped bring the magic back to the Garden ... but how they're so happy it was JALEN. I shed tears during some of those conversations, that's how moved I was by them. I'll probably shed tears after sending you this letter. And I'll warn you up front: I'm definitely shedding tears at your ring ceremony on Opening Night. What can I say?? It's been that kind of journey.