Jalen Brunson limped off the floor in Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs after an opposing player fell on his knee. Brunson headed to the locker room in what amounts to the worst case scenario for the Knicks.
Jalen Brunson injury: Knicks star returns to NBA Finals after hurting knee
Jalen Brunson exited Game 1 of the NBA Finals with a right knee injury.
Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
Update: Brunson returned to the game with under eight minutes left in the second quarter. He quickly hurt his ankle after returning. He stayed in the game even after the ankle injury and scored on the next Knicks’ possession.
Brunson was injured when teammate Landry Shamet pushed over Spurs forward Harrison Barnes on a made three-pointer by Julian Champagnie. Barnes fell on Brunson’s right knee, and the star guard immediately signaled that he needed to come out of the game. San Antonio ended the first quarter on a 20-5 run.
Watch the play where Brunson was injured here:
Here’s Brunson walking to the locker room:
Brunson has been the Knicks’ biggest star during this NBA Finals run. New York absolutely needs him to be at his best to win this series, and this is a terrible start. Here’s hoping Brunson can return.
Brunson is back now, and we’ll continue to update you on his status as the game goes on.
We’ll update this story as it develops.
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