Jalen Brunson is the biggest hero in America’s largest city. At first glance, he looks like a natural winner, and he has been one throughout his career. He won College Player of the Year at Villanova in 2018. That same year, he led the Wildcats to an NCAA championship. Dallas drafted him that year, and he later joined the Knicks in 2022. By 2025, the Knicks reached new heights, climbing to the top of the basketball world and winning the NBA Championship. Jalen scored 45 points in that title-clinching game and earned series MVP honors. But there is a lot more to this story.
Jalen married his high school sweetheart. This love story sounds like it belongs on Delilah’s radio show. Ali Marks and Jalen started dating back in 2013. They attended their senior prom together. They later enrolled in colleges hundreds of miles apart, with Jalen at Villanova and Ali at Northwestern. Still, their relationship continued to grow. Despite the challenges of dating long-distance, they made it work. Once Jalen signed his multi-million-dollar contract with New York, he proposed to Ali at the same high school basketball court where their relationship began. They married in 2023 and became parents a year later.
Sports media can be tough. It erupted when Jalen signed for $104 million with the Knicks. Go back and watch the clips: everyone from Stephen A. to Mad Dog scoffed at the move. The kindest assessment at the time suggested he might be the tenth-best player in the league at his position. Fast forward four years, and Jalen’s 45-point performance in an NBA Finals game has only happened once before. The man who did it was Michael Jordan. Mic drop.
Embracing Adversity
Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks were built on adversity. Not only were they considered huge underdogs in their series against the Spurs, but most people did not expect them to reach the Finals at all. When ESPN asked him what was going through his mind while the Knicks were getting blown out in Game 4, he said, “You’re allowed to think about the worst possible scenario but then you have to go do something about it.”
Wouldn’t it be awesome if everyone in your building felt that way right now? Revenue this spring has not met expectations, and rising gas prices are making it harder for people to buy radio commercials. Maybe your spring ratings book is not tracking the way you hoped. So, what are you and your team doing to fix it?
I saw another interview with Jalen where the host asked him about the pivotal play of the series. Believe it or not, he pointed to the moment Josh Hart missed a layup in Game 4, right before a teammate fouled Wemby. Jalen said Josh was on the floor with his face in his hands, and his teammates rushed over and told him to “get up.” Jalen said that moment embodied what this team is all about. These words from Jalen Brunson are especially meaningful to me as a talent coach: “when you’re able to look past a mistake…when you quickly doubt yourself and you have your teammates come and pick you up and say we’re good, we’re good…it gives us the confidence to make another play.”
The Lesson for Radio
We all make mistakes and face adversity in our jobs in radio. But, as Jalen’s story shows, how you respond to those errors and doubts is what makes you a winner. So let’s get up, make the quarter, and pull out a great final week of ratings for spring.
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Jim Ryan is a Music Radio columnist for Barrett Media. In addition, he runs Jim Ryan Media LLC, a consulting company which assists major market radio brands and top talent including national radio personality Delilah. Prior to relaunching his consultancy in 2025, Jim spent 15 years with Audacy/CBS Radio, serving as SVP of Programming. Among his responsibilities included programming WNEW-FM and WCBS-FM. His career includes additional programming stops in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Houston. Jim was voted the #2 PD of 2024 in Barrett Media’s Top 20 series in the AC category. He can be reached by email at Jim@JimRyanMedia.com.
