Jalen Brunson led the New York Knicks to snap one of the longest championship droughts in sports history earlier this year.

The Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs 4-1 in the NBA Finals in June, bringing a title to the city 53 years after the previous one.

With the feat, the Knicks' roster forever engraved itself in the city's folklore. Brunson and his teammates will forever be heroes.

However, while the celebrations in the Big Apple continue, Brunson — a little over three weeks away from the beginning of a new campaign — had to know when to tell himself that enough is enough. 

Brunson certainly allowed himself to feel all the emotions attached to winning such a highly anticipated championship. But he simply couldn't afford to bask in its glory for as long as everybody else.

The reason for that being he wants the Knicks' and his personal success to be sustained, not a one-off.

"I've wanted to be a champion for a long time," he said on the Things No One Tells You podcast. "But I didn't want to let it define me and who I was. This is everything I worked for, but I feel like I'm still working on a lot." 

Brunson revealed that he mentally moved on from winning the title around the time he underwent his wrist surgery in July. With training camp set to kick off on Tuesday and his recovery progress almost at 100 percent, he feels like he gave himself enough time to build up an appetite for more glory.

"When you are still trying to accomplish more, the quicker you can move on from that accomplishment, something you worked so hard for, the quicker you can continue to get better and not be satisfied," he added.

If you're a Knicks fan, you're loving what you're hearing from your best player.

While the competition in the Eastern Conference continues to heat up — with major moves strengthening teams all around them — Brunson is refusing to let up and allow his team to get lapped. 

Brunson, 30, is not unfamiliar with sustained success in the sport, albeit at a lower level. He won two NCAA championships in three years at Villanova.

He was quickly dubbed New York's savior after signing with the Knicks as a free agent in 2022. He took to life as the leader of a franchise surrounded by so much external pressure so well, and his mindset is the perfect explanation for why.

Brunson has averaged 26.3 points and 6.8 assists across 284 regular-season games as a Knick. On top of that, he is a playoff riser, with a career average of 29.4 points in 61 postseason games in New York.

He erupted in last year's Finals, guiding the Knicks past the Spurs by tallying 32.6 points per tilt. He dropped 45 points in the closeout Game 5, shooting 14-for-27 from the field and 4-for-7 from beyond the arc.

All of that doesn't come out of nothing. That type of altitude is only reached through a commitment to greatness. It is a product of relentless hard work.

That's why everyone in New York loves him. That's why he is so commonly known as 'The King of New York'. Because people see just how much he dedicates himself to making their beloved team successful.

If Brunson's approach entering camp is anything to go by, the Knicks will remain a serious contender in the East for some time. He will make sure of that.