Jalen Brunson’s rise to Knicks legend has also shone a light on someone who has been part of his story long before New York embraced him as its own.
After leading the Knicks to the 2026 NBA title with a 45-point performance to close out the Spurs in Game 5, fans wanted to know more about the woman who has been by his side long before he became a star. That is Dr. Ali Marks Brunson.
Their relationship did not start under the NBA spotlight. It began years earlier, built on something far more grounded than fame.
Jalen Brunson’s wife Ali Marks is a doctor and high school sweetheart
Ali Marks, now Ali Marks Brunson, is a doctor of physical therapy who has built her own career while Jalen became one of the league’s biggest names.
She studied kinesiology and exercise science at the University of Illinois before earning her doctorate from Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine in 2021.
The two met as teenagers at Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Illinois. They started dating in 2013, went to prom together in 2015, and stayed together through college, the NBA Draft and Jalen’s rise in New York.
Brunson proposed in September 2022, fittingly back on their old high school basketball court. They married the following July at the Ritz-Carlton in Chicago.
Ali Marks and Jalen Brunson keep relationship supportive but private
Marks has been spotted at Knicks games and key moments in Brunson’s career, but they have never turned their relationship into a public show. They share glimpses of their life together, including wedding photos and family moments, but still keep most of it private.
That balance is part of what makes their story relatable. In July 2024, they welcomed their daughter, Jordyn James, adding another chapter to a relationship that has now spanned more than a decade.
Brunson has become a Knicks icon, and while Marks is not as visible, her place in his journey has always mattered. She has been there since the very start, long before the rest of the world caught on.
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