There was an epic crossover between two of New York City's biggest superstars before the New York Yankees game against the New York Mets on Wednesday.
Yankees slugger Aaron Judge and New York Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson met up on Wednesday before Judge's game against the Mets. Brunson came away from the exchange with a very impressive gift from Judge: a pair of signed cleats that say “Keep running the city.”
Aaron Judge gifted Jalen Brunson a signed pair of cleats with the message "Keep running the city!"
New York fans had to be thrilled to see Judge and Brunson together. The two of them are arguably the two biggest stars in New York sports right now.
Are Aaron Judge and Jalen Brunson the biggest stars in New York?
Aaron Judge is having another MVP-caliber season while carrying an injury-riddled Yankees team on his back and keeping them in the postseason race. Judge is leading all of baseball with 35 home runs, 89 RBI, .439 OBP and .674 SLG, and the Yankees are firmly in the first American League Wild Card position with a 60-43 record. They are 3.5 games ahead of the Minnesota Twins and just 1.5 games behind the Baltimore Orioles in the AL East.
Brunson asserted himself as a New York legend this offseason after taking a massive pay cut to allow the Knicks to build a better team around him. Brunson and New York agreed to a four-year, $156.5 million contract, which is $113 million less than Brunson would have been able to earn next season.
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Last season, Brunson scored 28.7 points, 3.6 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game while shooting 40.1% from three and 47.9% from the field while leading the Knicks to the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference and the Eastern Conference semifinals. Brunson was an All-Star, finished fifth in MVP voting and was named to the All-NBA Second Team.
This offseason, the Knicks re-tooled, trading for Brunson's former Villanova teammate Mikal Bridges from the Brooklyn Nets and re-signing defensive ace OG Annunoby. All-Star Julius Randle, who missed the end of last season due to a shoulder injury, is also expected to be fully healthy going into 2024-25. If they are able to stay fully healthy, the Knicks should be able to challenge the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference and be true NBA Finals contenders.
Right now, Judge and Brunson are the kings of the New York City sports landscape. No one is as successful or as popular as either of them. The only thing left for the two of them to do is to bring a championship to the Big Apple.
