Jalen Brunson won the Bill Russell trophy as 2026 NBA Finals MVP after leading the New York Knicks to a 94-90 Game 5 win over the San Antonio Spurs at Frost Bank Center, NBA.com reported.
The Knicks took the series 4-1 and won their first NBA championship since 1973. NBA.com's official game summary listed the matchup as final, with New York clinching the Finals on the road in San Antonio.
Brunson Closes With Knicks Finals Record
Brunson scored 45 points in Game 5, which NBA.com identified as a Knicks Finals record. The previous franchise mark was 38 by Willis Reed in the 1970 Finals.
The point guard also scored 15 points in the fourth quarter, giving New York the late-game engine it needed after trailing by 16. NBA.com described the Knicks as having rallied from double-digit deficits in all four of their wins in the series.
That closeout line is why the MVP vote had little mystery. Brunson was the central scorer in the deciding game and the player most responsible for turning another deficit into the title-clinching result.
Knicks End 53-Year Wait
New York's championship ended a 53-year gap since its 1973 title. The Knicks improved to 4-0 in closeout chances during the postseason, winning all four away from home.
Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart also supplied support in Game 5. NBA.com credited Bridges with 14 points and Hart with 13, giving the Knicks enough around Brunson to withstand another Spurs lead.
San Antonio's response came through its young core. Dylan Harper scored 25 for the Spurs, while Victor Wembanyama finished with 19 points, 14 rebounds and five blocked shots.
Finals MVP Caps New York Run
The award gives Brunson the defining individual honor from a Finals that changed the Knicks' modern profile. He arrived in New York four years earlier and closed this run with the highest-scoring Finals game in franchise history.
The official game page lists NYK winning the series 4-1, with Game 5 marked final in San Antonio. NBA.com's award story and game summary put the same night into two lines of record: Knicks champions, Brunson Finals MVP.