Jalen Brunson joins Bill Russell, Magic Johnson in exclusive club with championship trifecta

Jalen Brunson is the king of New York.

The NBA Finals MVP powered the Knicks to a championship behind a brilliant 45-point performance in Saturday's clinching game, cementing himself as a franchise legend as New York won its first title in 53 years.

Brunson has been a winner since the very start. From high school to college and now to the NBA, the championships have piled up for the Knicks star.

Here's a look at which players Brunson joined as a champion at all three levels.

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Players to win high school, NCAA and NBA championships

While information on high school championships from some of the NBA's earliest years might be more limited, 20 players are known to have won championships at the high school, NCAA and NBA levels. Brunson became the 20th when the Knicks captured their first title since 1973:

The list includes legends Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson and Bill Walton.

More recently, an interesting mix of names has entered. Sasha Kaun and Mamadi Diakite were along for the ride when the Cavaliers and Bucks won their championships, respectively, while Donte DiVincenzo missed most of Milwaukee's 2021 playoff run due to injury but joined the club after winning state titles in Delaware and two titles at Villanova. 

Before Brunson, Christian Braun was the most recent player to join the club. Al Horford became the latest player to win NCAA and NBA titles when the Celtics won in 2024, but he didn't win a high school title.

Brunson won a state championship at Adlai Stevenson High School in Illinois, and he won twice at Villanova before climbing the mountaintop with the Knicks.

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Players to win high school, NCAA and NBA championships and Finals MVP

With the caveat that the NBA Finals MVP award wasn't created until 1969, when it was just about too late for current namesake Bill Russell to win the award, the list shrinks dramatically when looking at players who won a trifecta and a Finals MVP award:

Brunson is one of four players known to have won championships at the high school, college and NBA levels as well as an NBA Finals MVP award. He is the first since Magic Johnson and stands alongside three Hall of Famers by earning those honors.