We asked New York Knicks starting point guard Jalen Brunson — who recently partnered with Catalina Crunch — about the hot sauces, LEGO set, and sunglasses he can’t live without.
I started it last season when I moved into my place in New York and got most of it done while waiting to get our Wi-Fi installed in the house. Since then, it’s been a very slow process of finishing it, but it’s about three-quarters of the way done. I have a couple other LEGO sets, including a Bat Cave one, and my family jokingly got me a Chewbacca one for Christmas. But I don’t want to start them until I finish my Millenium Falcon.
I always have a pair of glasses near me. More times than not, you’ll probably see me walking into an arena with a pair of shades on. I wasn’t the type of person to think that you have shades on inside, but sometimes shades go with the fit. And if you’re walking into a place and all these people are looking at you, taking pictures of you, and you kind of don’t really know where to look, it’s one way to cover your eyes.
I always have this gum before the game. I’ve been doing it since my time in Dallas. We always had Extra gum in the training room or in the locker room. All these things happen organically and then it turns into a little routine. But I can only do it pregame — I never play with gum during the game.
Usually on off days we’re kind of returning from the road, so I’ll unpack, do some laundry, clean some stuff around the house. Sometimes I play video games. I’m playing a little bit of Call of Duty, the new one. I go back and forth between Call of Duty and Fortnite, depending on which friends are playing. FC 24 is fun too.
The more you wear ’em, the more comfortable they are.
I had an obsession with Topo Chico for a long time. It was always in the facility when I was in Dallas and then it’s stuck with me since. The grapefruit was pretty good, but the lime is my favorite.
If I get Chipotle, I get a salad bowl or a Chipotle bowl. And if I don’t get the dressing, the bowl’s ruined for me. I just can’t eat it.
Sriracha is better with breakfast food — eggs and stuff like that — and I feel like Frank’s you would use for dinner and lunch food.
I forget how or when that came about, but I saw this body wash and it smelled amazing, and so ever since then it’s the one that’s always in my shower.
My go-to Wawa order is: a classic hoagie on whole wheat, with turkey, lettuce, tomato, banana peppers, chipotle mayo, honey mustard, salt, and pepper. It used to be a BLT, but I don’t eat pork any more, and so I just switched the bacon out for turkey. But, that’s been my go-to since I was a little kid. It kind of started when I moved away in fifth grade. We moved to Virginia, and we didn’t have a Wawa down there, so whenever we drove back up to Philly or South Jersey, we always passed one that was two hours away, and we used to make a stop there while we were driving as a family. And then when I went to the Midwest, obviously there wasn’t one there, so I just felt like whenever I came back, I had to stop.
The Kobe 6 is one of my favorite shoes. And then obviously the meaning behind all of it … It’s just a perfect shoe. I have multiple pairs, but I’ll wear one through until it’s time to get a new one.
I work with a nutritionist, and she’s been amazing. We want to implement foods that are going to help me perform better and feel better and keep me in the best shape possible, but we want to make sure that I’m also eating the things I actually like. I haven’t gone fully plant-based, but I’ve introduced a lot of plant-based items into my diet and Catalina Crunch fits into that. I have it with breakfast or maybe a snack during the day, but it’s definitely something I eat in the morning to get my day started.
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