The NBA world may not have seen Immanuel Quickley becoming the player he has for the Toronto Raptors, but Jalen Brunson is not surprised.
The New York Knicks superstar offered high praise for his former teammate by saying he isn’t surprised by Quickley’s development after the Raptors 116-94 loss to the Knicks in New York on Sunday.
Quickley was a member of the Knicks when he finished as the runner-up for NBA Sixth Man of the Year in 2022-23. But Quickley started his 92nd straight game for the Raptors on Sunday night since they acquired him with guard R.J. Barrett from New York for OG Anunoby, Precious Achiuwa and Malachi Flynn on Dec. 30, 2023.
Jalen Brunson: ‘Nothing Surprising’ About The Way Immanuel Quickley Is Playing
Knicks fans were content to part with Quickley, and Barrett for that matter, since the former was a pending free agent. The deal opened Quickley up to sign a five-year, $175 million contract to remain in Toronto through 2029 and freed space for the Knicks to acquire Karl-Anthony Towns from the Minnesota Timberwolves.
But Quickley has gone from a perennial contender for Sixth Man of the Year to a fledgling star in Toronto, which isn’t lost on the Quickley’s ex-teammate and the Knicks captain.
“The way he’s worked on his game since I’ve seen him — since I was his teammate and even before then — [there is] nothing surprising,” Brunson said. “The way he’s and what he’s been able to do up there has been great. This is the opportunity he was looking for, and he’s shown out and I have nothing but respect for him.”
Quickley started just 27 of his 253 games with the Knicks, who acquired him mere hours after he was selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder with the 25th pick of the 2020 NBA Draft.
He proved himself a capable scorer by averaging about 13 points per game — in just 24 minutes per game — for the Knicks and helped them reach the second round of the playoffs in Brunson’s first season, 2023-24.
But Quickley has emerged has one of the Raptors’ most reliable players, sitting third on the team in minutes per game (32.2) and leading them in assists per game (6.3) while averaging 16 points. He’s been a big reason why the Raptors are off to a surprising 14-7 start, and Brunson couldn’t be happier for him.
“That’s my guy,” Brunson said. “The way our relationship is, we go out there and compete, but I’m always rooting for him.”
Jalen Brunson Knows The Raptors Will Be Better When They Play Again Next Week
Sunday was the first of two meetings between the Knicks and Raptors in a 10-day span, but the second will be in the NBA Cup quarterfinals in Toronto on Dec. 9.
Brunson believes the Knicks will see a better opponent than the one who was coming off an overtime loss in Charlotte on Saturday night.
“Them, obviously, playing on a second of a back-to-back, an overtime game and traveling and what they did is definitely tough,” Brunson said. “When we see them next week, we know that they’re going to be ready and they’re going to be ready to go.
“We won tonight, but we got to be ready next week too.”
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