Jalen Brunson’s Jewish wedding story, from high school sweethearts to Knicks star

Jalen Brunson, now one of the most beloved figures in New York as he leads the Knicks toward their first title since 1973, has been by his wife’s side almost from the beginning. His wife, Dr. Allison Marks Brunson, is a Jewish physical therapist and the mother of their young daughter, Jordyn.

According to Kover, the couple met in high school at Adlai E. Stevenson High School in suburban Chicago. Brunson was 15 and Allison was 16 when they began dating, and they attended prom and graduation together. Even after going to different colleges, Allison staying in Illinois and Brunson moving to Villanova University in Pennsylvania, they kept the relationship alive from a distance.

Seven years later, Brunson proposed in the same high school gym where they first met, kneeling under a floral arch. In a wedding video, he said Allison “sacrificed a lot, without really knowing what she was going to get out of it,” adding that she “always wanted the best for me” and pushed him to improve. The couple married in July 2023 at the Ritz-Carlton in Chicago in a Jewish ceremony that included signing a ketubah, a chuppah decorated with flowers, and a hora at the reception.

Allison was escorted to the chuppah by her mother, and her sisters and Brunson’s sister spoke about welcoming a new family member. Their daughter, Jordyn James Brunson, was born on July 31, 2024, just days after their third wedding anniversary. Her middle name, James, honors Allison’s late father, in keeping with Ashkenazi tradition. A recent viral video showed Jordyn calling “Dada!” during a press conference, and she is often seen at Madison Square Garden, sometimes alongside celebrity fans like Ben Stiller and sometimes on her father’s shoulders after games.