Jalen Brunson has already written one of the great New York basketball stories. Now he is writing one for kids.
Fresh off leading the Knicks to their first NBA championship since 1973, Brunson announced that he is releasing his debut children’s book, Jalen Plays It All. The picture book, illustrated by Neely Daggett and published by Feiwel & Friends, follows a young Brunson as he tries different sports before eventually finding basketball.
Jalen Brunson will release a children’s book:
“I’ve been thinking a lot about how I can show kids who might not be the tallest or the fastest, that they, too, have greatness in them.” pic.twitter.com/d3oWSmLYrp
— OpenCourt-Basketball (@OpenCourtFB) June 24, 2026
For Brunson, the message is personal. He said he has been thinking about how to show kids “who might not be the tallest or the fastest” that they still have greatness in them. That line could basically be the subtitle of his entire career. Brunson was never sold as the biggest, fastest or most physically overwhelming guard in the room. He just kept winning the room anyway.
That is what makes the book feel like a natural extension of his story. Brunson’s rise has always been built on footwork, discipline, patience and stubborn belief. He became a college champion at Villanova, an overlooked second-round pick, a star in New York, a Finals MVP and now the face of the Knicks’ first title team in more than five decades.
The book’s larger lesson is that success does not happen overnight. Brunson wrote that there are mistakes, setbacks and moments when giving up feels easier than pushing forward, but every sport he played helped shape the habits and work ethic that made him who he is.
That is a good children’s book message. It is also a pretty good Jalen Brunson scouting report.
The funniest part is that Brunson is now so beloved in New York that he could probably publish a grocery list and Knicks fans would call it leadership literature. But this project has more meaning than that. It gives young readers a champion who looks at greatness less as a gift and more as something built, slowly, through effort and belief.
