Jalen Brunson says listening to Justin Bieber right before games became a winning ritual during his college years at Villanova, and he’s carried it into the Knicks’ historic run—culminating in their 2026 NBA Finals championship over the San Antonio Spurs.
Jalen Brunson didn’t just share a celebrity favorite—he described a moment before the moment.
In February 2024. the Knicks All-Star point guard appeared on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and talked about game-day routines that start with Justin Bieber. “I think the one thing that’s a little obscure is I listen to Bieber before I run out. ” Brunson said. “I listen to Justin Bieber right before I run out, every game.”.
Brunson traced the habit back to college. “It started in college. So I went to Villanova. My sister actually put me on to the ‘Purpose’ album. […] So going to the game, I’m shuffling music, and one of the songs on the album is playing as I’m going to an NCAA tournament game.”
He said he listened as his team won, then did it again the next time—and it kept working. “We end up winning, and then it happened again. So. I was like. ‘Oh. this might be a thing.’ And then we kept winning and winning. and we won a national championship. So that happened, and then my junior year, same thing. We won it again.”.
What happens when a ritual survives a season is the part people notice. By the time the Knicks were deep into their postseason, Brunson’s Bieber routine had become something fans could recognize as the franchise moved through an especially long road back.
Brunson’s confession resurfaced in the spotlight again this week after New York’s run ended the way it had been waiting to end for decades: the Knicks dispatching the San Antonio Spurs in the 2026 NBA Finals to capture the franchise’s first championship since 1973. Brunson, the 2026 NBA Finals MVP, appeared on “The View” on Monday. Whoopi Goldberg asked whether he listened to Bieber before games in the Finals.
“Of course,” Brunson said, explaining what the music does for him. “I’m the type of person who kind of needs to be level; I don’t need to be hyped before the game. I kind of need to be leveled, and I feel like his music did that.”
Earlier that same day, Brunson joined Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges on “TODAY with Jenna & Sheinelle.” Jenna Bush Hagar asked each of them to name what song hyped them up before Saturday’s decisive Game 5. Brunson pointed to Bieber again: “I would say any Bieber song from ‘Swag II.’”
Across the country, the connection between music and the celebration wasn’t lost on the Biebers, either. Hailey Bieber—Justin’s wife since September 2018—grew up in New York and was in attendance at Madison Square Garden for the Knicks’ 29-point comeback win in Game 4 on June 10.
If Brunson hadn’t met Bieber yet before, the title run has now given him a new kind of attention—one that comes with the noise of a whole arena, the final buzzer over a team that had to be beaten to get there, and a soundtrack he says he’s carried with him for years.
Jalen Brunson Justin Bieber Knicks NBA Finals 2026 San Antonio Spurs Villanova Hailey Bieber Madison Square Garden Purpose album Swag II
Bieber playlist = NBA cheating? lol
Okay but if that’s true then maybe everyone should be listening to pop music before games? I don’t know why I’m surprised though, athletes are weird with routines.
So wait they won the Finals in 2026 over the Spurs and that’s because he listened to Justin Bieber right before he ran out?? I mean I guess vibes matter but also wasn’t the Knicks run like… already stacked? This just feels like a headline they’re making bigger.
My cousin swears this kind of stuff is real like how singers in church put on “Purpose” or whatever and then everything goes right. I don’t even like Bieber but if it worked for Brunson, cool. Also Villanova?? I thought that was just random college talk, not some playoff prophecy. The article cuts off anyway so who knows what happened right after.