Ben Stiller, a longtime Knicks superfan, was blown away by Jalen Brunson’s NBA Finals Game 1 performance as New York rallied from a double-digit third-quarter deficit to take a 1-0 series lead. Stiller compared Brunson’s determination to the final scene in Roc
For Ben Stiller, it wasn’t just another big game to watch — it was something he felt up close.
The Knicks’ superfan appeared in an interview with Antonio Daniels and Rob Perez and talked at length about what he saw from Jalen Brunson in NBA Finals Game 1. Stiller said he’s been a Brunson fan “since the beginning. ” because he roots for “the underdog” and “the smaller guy.” But Game 1 pushed that admiration into something sharper. After the game, Stiller described being near the action and feeling like he was witnessing “something really, really next level.”.
“‘I’ve been a Brunson fan since the beginning. just because I think I root for the underdog. I root for the smaller guy. But. man. last night. having the opportunity to watch it that close and to be around it a little bit after the game. I thought I knew Jalen Brunson in terms of how good he is. but I felt like I was witnessing something really. really next level. The aura.’”.
Stiller wasn’t done. He said he believed he understood how good Brunson was, but what unfolded made it feel larger than reputation.
“‘I thought I knew how good Jalen Brunson was, but I felt like I was witnessing something really, really next level.’ Ben Stiller on watching Brunson’s Game 1 masterpiece.”
Then came the image he kept coming back to. Stiller compared the way Brunson left the court to the final scene in Rocky, calling the Knicks guard “determined” and saying it looked like he “willed his team to a win.”
Brunson’s Game 1 performance gave Stiller plenty to point to. New York was down by double digits in the third quarter against the San Antonio Spurs, and the night started to look grim. But the Knicks captain came alive, and the game turned around the late scoring stretch.
Stiller’s description of determination matched what happened on the scoreboard: Brunson led New York to a win despite the Knicks going through a rough spell earlier when Brunson went down a couple of times with injuries. He also wasn’t perfect — Stiller’s theme of “aura” didn’t come with the comfort of clean efficiency. The Knicks guard made less than 40% of his shots, but he still hit the ones that mattered most.
One of those moments arrived late, when Brunson delivered the basket that gave the Knicks a six-point lead — described as one of the most important parts of Game 1.
The result matters because it didn’t just flip a single quarter; it set the tone for the series. Heading into Game 2, the Knicks and Brunson will need to keep that momentum going.
New York, according to the same Game 1 storyline, didn’t begin smoothly in the opening stretch of this matchup either. The Knicks came out sluggish against the Spurs, who were coming off a seven-game series against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Even with that uneven start, New York enters Game 2 with a lead: they are up 1-0 in the series.
The real takeaway for Stiller, though, was the feeling he said he couldn’t shake after watching Brunson so closely. The night gave him the same verdict twice — first in the detail of how Brunson made shots when they counted. and again in how he left the court. To Stiller, it wasn’t only a star performance. It was something that carried an unmistakable presence — the “aura” he described after Game 1.
Jalen Brunson New York Knicks Ben Stiller NBA Finals Game 1 San Antonio Spurs Antonio Daniels Rob Perez Oklahoma City Thunder Rocky series lead