This was not about a moral victory.
It wasn’t about taking solace in anything after a hard-fought series.
Jalen Brunson wanted to make that clear.
He didn’t view the Knicks reaching the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in 25 years as any sort of achievement.
Despite not reaching their final destination, the Knicks captain wanted to highlight the positives from this season, even though they were six victories away from their ultimate aim.
“Perhaps ‘accomplished’ isn’t the term I’d use,” Brunson remarked following the Knicks’ six-game playoff exit to the Pacers on Saturday night. “Nevertheless, witnessing the team’s growth this year was genuinely enjoyable for me. Many doubted our capabilities and were skeptical about our goals. Yet, we stayed focused and worked hard, which is something I truly admire about this team. I’m proud of our perseverance.”
The Knicks had a strong regular season, winning 51 games, their most since the 2012-13 season.
Still, when it came to playoff contention, the Knicks were largely overlooked, a result of their 0-8 slump against the Eastern Conference’s top seeds, the reigning champions Celtics and Cavaliers.
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But the Knicks stunned Boston in the second round, rallying from 20-point deficits at TD Garden in each of the first two games.
They played deeper into the spring than expected.
In the losing locker room, there was frustration and disappointment, but also optimism for the future.
A belief that there is more to come from this group.
It was their first year together, Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges joining the Brunson-led core that also included Mitchell Robinson, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart and Miles McBride.
That entire group is under contract next season, and Brunson believes it can take the next step together.
“The most confident. Overconfident. Seriously,” Brunson said. “There’s not an ounce of any type of doubt that I’m not confident with this group.
“We have a lot of guys who are on this team, and I feel like you guys always ask, ‘what do you work on whenever you come back?’ and stuff like that,” he added. “And from what I’ve seen, no one’s really out there posting themselves about the things that they do. We have a lot of guys that just genuinely want to work hard to be better, and I like that, and I appreciate my teammates and everything they do and everything they believe in.”
