Life in New York looks a little different these days for Ali Brunson, but she wouldn’t have it any other way.
The wife of New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson recently opened up about how motherhood — and the unexpected community that came with it — reshaped her experience living in the city. While she and Jalen had already been in the area for several years, Ali said everything changed after welcoming their daughter, Jordyn, in July 2024.
“We’ve been in the New York area for four years ever since Jalen and I moved here,” Ali said in an interview with Us Weekly. “But it wasn’t until I had Jordyn that opened up this whole other world of moms. I was like, ‘You guys all live here? Who knew.’”
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Jalen Brunson, who signed a four-year, $104 million deal with the New York Knicks in 2022 after starting his NBA career with the Dallas Mavericks, has become one of the franchise’s most important players. Off the court, Ali has been carving out her own space — and she says the mom community in New York has been a major part of that journey.
“It’s an amazing community, the mom world,” she said. “They rally around each other for sure.”
That sense of connection also extends into NBA circles, though Ali acknowledges the term “WAG” — shorthand for wives and girlfriends — still comes with mixed reactions.
“I think still, at its core, it has a negative connotation,” she explained. “It’s linked to this group of women and we are connected to the sport itself. It kind of depends on the situation.”
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From her perspective, the reality doesn’t match the stereotype. According to Ali, the women she’s met through the league are grounded, career-driven, and independent. “They are standing on their own two feet, doing something for themselves,” she said. “They have careers. They all have substance.”