Just two years into his tenure in New York, Jalen Brunson has turned into a Knicks legend. Taking them from being the laughingstock of the league to legitimate title contenders, JB is surely one of the best free-agent signings in recent memory. While his performance on the court continues to impress, he won the Knicks fans’ hearts once again as he made a massive salary sacrifice yesterday by inking a four-year $156.5 million extension. But his heroic gesture, while LeBron James comes into the fan’s firing range, serves a bigger purpose as it could take the NY side one step closer to ultimate glory.

Yes, while Brunson’s new deal is in no way a small paycheck, it does fall short when you find out that he could have signed a 5-year $269 million deal had he waited another year to sign the extension. So, why did JB give up all that money?

Well, to give the New York Knicks more flexibility to keep the roster intact and make moves to build a team that can win a Championship. While JB is guaranteed to lose $37.1 million (that he won’t get back) for the first 3 years of his contract because of this sacrifice, that cash can now be used in cap space by the Knicks to improve the roster.

Some may now wonder, what does that have to do with LeBron James at all?

Jalen Brunson’s sacrifice is something the fans hoped even Bron would do to help the Lakers get back to title contention. When the LA side was pursuing Klay Thompson and DeMar DeRozan in free agency, there were reports about the 39-year-old willing to take a major pay cut on his new extension to save his team from the penalties of crossing the second apron of luxury tax and giving them enough cap space to sign a high-profile star.

However, with Klay choosing Dallas over LA, LeBron James eventually ended up sacrificing only $3 million of his initial $104 million expected deal and signed a two-year $101.3 million extension. And he did save the Lakers from crossing the second apron. But because Jalen Brunson’s sacrifice is significantly bigger in context, the Knicks have a much better shot at building a Championship roster!

Mikal Bridges to follow in Jalen Brunson’s footsteps?

When LeBron James took only a $3 million pay cut, controversial speculations began that winning a title was no longer a priority for the 39-year-old. However, with Brunson’s sacrifice, he has made his intentions pretty clear as now the franchise can focus on ending their 51-year Championship drought. Moreover, with Mikal Bridges joining the team this summer, the Villanova Boys have finally reunited as Hart, Brunson, DiVincenzo, and Bridges are teammates once again years after winning multiple national titles in college.

Maybe (as per his gestures), winning a title with his best friends was more important to Brunson than the money he could have made. And his sacrifice could set a precedent for the entire squad as now Mikal is also expected to follow in JB’s footsteps and take a pay cut on his next extension.

As per Forbes Sports’ Evan Sidery, Bridges could also give back a major chunk of money, as he enters the third year of his $90 million contract this year and will be eligible for an extension soon. If he does so, the Nova Boys can stay teammates for years to come as New York will have enough money to go around for all of them, and then some more to surround them with talented players who can help them bring a title home. So, Brunson’s sacrifice could be the beginning of a new era for the Knicks.

Are you on board?

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what brand maker, Leonard Armato, had to say about the deadly duo, Shaq and Kobe, check out this video