Jalen Brunson is being called the “king of New York” as he stands one win away from leading the Knicks to an NBA championship, potentially the franchise’s first since 1973. But behind his rise is another story: his marriage to Dr. Ali Marks-Brunson, a Jewish physical therapist who has been by his side for much of the journey.
The couple married in 2023 in a ceremony that incorporated Jewish traditions, including the signing of a ketubah, a floral chuppah and a Hora dance at the celebration.
2 View gallery
Jalen Brunson and his wife
(Photo: Gregory Shamus / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)
Brunson and Marks-Brunson began dating as teenagers at Adlai E. Stevenson High School in the suburbs of Chicago, when Ali was 16 and Jalen was 15. Today, she is 30 and he is 29.
They continued their relationship long-distance through college, with Ali staying in Illinois while Brunson attended Villanova University in Pennsylvania. Seven years later, Brunson returned to the old high school gym where they had met, got down on one knee beneath a flower arch and proposed.
“She sacrificed a lot without knowing what was ahead of her,” Brunson said in their wedding video, speaking about his wife’s support for his basketball career. “She was fully committed and wanted the best for me. Sometimes I felt like she put my wants before her own. She always pushed me to get better.”
The couple married in July 2023 at the Ritz-Carlton in Chicago. Ali was escorted to the chuppah by her mother, and the ceremony included elements of the bride’s Jewish tradition. The two signed a ketubah, were married under a flower-covered chuppah and danced the traditional Hora.
Ali’s family suffered a major loss in 2010, when her father, James Marks, died at 49 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Since then, the issue has become a central part of her life. She has taken part in marathon runs and raised money for Project Purple, an organization that supports research and families affected by the disease.
On July 31, 2024, the couple welcomed their first daughter, Jordyn James Brunson. In keeping with Jewish tradition, she was given the middle name James in memory of her late grandfather.
Jordyn recently went viral on social media after charmingly interrupting one of her father’s press conferences by shouting “Dada!” at him. The toddler has also become a familiar guest in the stands at Madison Square Garden, where she is often seen near celebrity fans such as actor Ben Stiller or celebrating on Brunson’s shoulders after games.
Alongside her husband’s success in the NBA, Ali has built a professional career of her own. In 2021, she earned a doctorate in physical therapy from Northwestern University, and she now runs an independent clinic in New York.