New York Knicks' Jalen Brunson Gets Engaged on High School Basketball Court: 'Forever'
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Austin and Jenna Jalen Brunson and Ali Marks
New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson is engaged!
Brunson, 26, and his fianceé Ali Marks announced their engagement Wednesday with photos on Instagram from the big moment, which took place on the basketball court at Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Illinois.
The two first met as students at the high school before Brunson made it to the NBA. Marks now works as a physical therapist, according to TMZ.
Photos show that Brunson proposed at center court, surrounded by decorations of white roses and candles placed in the shape of a heart on the hardwood itself, with an arch made of similar flowers placed behind the couple as the basketball guard got on one knee.
Brunson simply captioned his engagement photo post with, "forever," while Marks wrote "you are a lifetime" as her caption. She also commented "forever" on Brunson's post.
Austin and Jenna Jalen Brunson and Ali Marks
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The newly engaged couple visited their alma mater for Brunson's induction into the high school's Hall of Fame, according to TMZ, which cited a photo Marks shared to her Instagram Stories that has since been deleted. ESPN ranked Brunson No. 16 on its 2015 Top 100 recruiting list when he finished his high school basketball career.
Several NBA and basketball figures, including Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, commented on Brunson's post to congratulate him on his engagement.
"See how I predicted that ..." Cuban, 64, wrote in two separate comments. "Congrats 🎉🎉🎉"
Austin and Jenna Jalen Brunson and Ali Marks
Austin and Jenna Jalen Brunson and Ali Marks
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Brunson played his first four NBA seasons with the Mavericks before he signed a four-year, $104 million contract with the New York Knicks in June, according to ESPN.
Knicks player RJ Barrett complimented Brunson ahead of their first season as teammates at a recent season-ticket holder event livestreamed on Twitter.
"Jalen's great, he's really smart. He's a really hard worker," Barrett, 22, said. "He works on his game a lot, so I think with that — and he has natural leadership ability, too, just being around him, guys gravitate towards him as well. I think him and I work together very well, especially us being lefties."
Jalen Brunson/Instagram Jalen Brunson and Ali Marks
As the Knicks look to rebound from a 37-45 record last season, former NBA player Mark Jackson told PEOPLE in August that New York's basketball scene is all about "the grit, the grind, the edge, the competitiveness, the swag, the confidence, the struggle, the embracing of the bright lights."
The 1988 NBA rookie of the year, who was born in Brooklyn and played for the Knicks from 1987-1992 and returned to the club from 2000-2002, said playing in New York City "forces you to mature ahead of your time and puts you in position to be ready to conquer anything in the world, including ultimately, which we all face, is some sort of adversity."
