Two former teammates had an awkward run-in following the preseason game between the New York Knicks and Minnesota Timberwolves. Donte DiVincenzo and Jalen Brunson's father Rick Brunson had to be separated after the Knicks defeated the Timberwolves 115-110 on Sunday night.
DiVincenzo, who was recently traded by the Knicks to the Timberwolves, had a heated exchange with Brunson's father, who walked up to him when players were shaking hands (via New York Post Sports on X, formerly Twitter). It wasn't long before players on both teams got involved in the discussion.
Donte DiVincenzo & Rick Brunson got into a heated exchange after the game 👀pic.twitter.com/cGaIt2HFWJ
— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) October 14, 2024
DiVincenzo responded to reporters in the locker room after players left the court.
“Some words. I don’t know fully well what was said,” DiVincenzo said after facing the Knicks for the first time since they traded him last month. “A lot of people there. But I really have no comment on the situation. I think we’ll both be men and talk about it privately.”
Jalen Brunson was doing his best with lightening the occurrence, but the whole incident appeared to be as DiVincenzo said.
“My relationship with Jalen — that’s my brother, my best friend,” DiVincenzo said. “That’s a separate relationship. I said I’ll talk about that privately and figure that out.”
There were times during Sunday's game where DiVincenzo was seen chirping at the Knicks bench, but it appears as if it was all just words in the heat of the battle.




Jalen Brunson weighs in about incident between Donte DiVincenzo and Rick Brunson
Brunson, who led the Knicks in scoring with 24 points on Sunday, had a chance to address whatever was going on between his good friend and father. The All-Star point guard put it simple.
“Two people talking,” he said. “Words of affirmation.”
It's still uncertain what exactly the issue was between DiVincenzo and Brunson, but it's likely that whatever gripe they have with each other is yet to be fully settled.
The former Villanova teammates got their first opportunity to play against each other in a long time. DiVincenzo signed with the Knicks in July 2023 with other college teammate Josh Hart being traded there in February 2023.
Sadly, the Knicks won't fully have all of their star pieces from the 2017-18 national champion roster, but they will certainly be close by adding Mikal Bridges in the offseason. It will be interesting to see how DiVincenzo and Brunson interact when they see each other again in their regular-season clash on December 19.