Rick Brunson

Born in Syracuse, New York, he attended Salem High School, becoming one of two McDonald's All-Americans from Massachusetts in 1991.^[2]

Brunson played college basketball for the Temple Owls.^[3] He averaged 16.7 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.1 assists during his senior season.^[4] Brunson's 1,493 career points ranked 11th in program history while his 253 steals and 191 three-pointers each ranked third.^[3]

Brunson was not selected in the 1995 NBA draft which was attributed to his inconsistent shooting and a lack of speed.^[3] Brunson spent preseason with the Philadelphia 76ers and was the final player cut by the team before the start of the 1995–96 NBA season.^[5] Head coach John Lucas II called it one of his toughest decisions ever as a coach because he wanted a local player for the team and Brunson "was very, very close."^[5]

On November 20, 1995, Brunson signed with the Adelaide 36ers of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL).^[6] He was selected as the team's most valuable player during the 1996 NBL season.^[7] He played in the Continental Basketball Association the next season. He was signed as a free agent by the Portland Trail Blazers in 1997–98, playing again in the CBA at the start of the 1998–99 season. He also had a brief stint in the Philippines as the import for the most popular ball club in the Philippine Basketball Association, Ginebra San Miguel, in 1998.

Brunson then signed with the New York Knicks, and was a member of the 1999 Eastern Conference championship team. In 2000–01, he started off with the Boston Celtics, but finished the season with the Knicks again. He rejoined the Trail Blazers in 2001–02. He then signed with the Chicago Bulls the next season, splitting between the Bulls and the Toronto Raptors in 2003–04. He joined the Los Angeles Clippers for the 2004–05 season, in which he had his best season as a pro, averaging a career-high 5.5 points per game. This helped him land a contract the following year with the Seattle SuperSonics, but he only appeared in four games that season due to injury. On February 28, 2006, the Sonics waived Brunson. He was subsequently signed by the Houston Rockets, with whom he finished his ninth and final season as a professional basketball player.

From January to April 2007, Brunson worked as an assistant coach with the Denver Nuggets, focusing on player development. From 2007 to 2009, he was with the University of Virginia as the Cavaliers' director of basketball operations. In May 2009, Brunson was hired as assistant coach for the Hartford Hawks men's basketball team.^[8] On September 8, 2010, Brunson was hired as an assistant coach for the Chicago Bulls.^[9]

During the 2012–13 season, Brunson served as an assistant coach to Mike Dunlap on the Charlotte Bobcats' staff.^[10]

On September 25, 2016, Brunson was hired by the Minnesota Timberwolves as an assistant coach.^[11] In May 2018, Brunson resigned amidst allegations made against him regarding misconduct toward two women, while strongly denying the accusations.^[12]

Brunson coached at Camden High School in Camden, New Jersey.^[13] He was Dajuan Wagner Jr.'s head coach. Brunson resigned prior to the 2020–21 season while Camden High was ranked the #7 team in the country,^[14] but changed his mind a couple days later and remained the coach until 2022.^[15]

On June 2, 2022, Brunson was hired by the New York Knicks as an assistant coach.^[16]

Brunson met his wife, Sandra, at Temple University, where he played for the Owls men's basketball team and she played volleyball.^[17] Rick went on to spend nine seasons in the NBA.^[18] The couple has two children: Jalen (born 1996) and Erica (born c. 2000/01).^[17][18] The family settled in Cherry Hill, New Jersey for much of his NBA career,^[17] but moved seven times before settling in Lincolnshire, Illinois, in 2010 where Jalen played his high school career for Adlai E. Stevenson High School before joining Villanova.^[17]

Jalen was named the 2014 and 2015 Illinois Boys' Basketball Gatorade Player of the Year as a junior and senior,^[19][20] was named to the 2015 McDonald's All-American Boys Game roster,^[21] was named Illinois Mr. Basketball,^[22] and led his team to the 2015 Illinois High School Association Class 4A championship.^[23][24] Jalen is currently a player for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Brunson met Tom Thibodeau in the summer of 1987 when he was 15 years old and they both played in men's league games in Salem. According to both Brunson and Thibodeau, their shared competitiveness on the court led to a partnership that saw Brunson being an assistant with Thibodeau on the Timberwolves, the Bulls, and the Knicks until the end of the 2025-2026 season.^[25]