When news broke that Jalen Brunson was going to be out of action for an extended period of time with a sprained right ankle injury, it added a major question mark to the final chapter of the New York Knicks' 2024-25 regular season.

Sure, the team has Miles “Deuce” McBride, who has played well in his place as a full-time lead guard alongside Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges, and company, and the Knicks have held things down all right in his absence, going 3-4 against a middle-of-the-road collection of opponents.

But even with Karl-Anthony Towns becoming a revelation in New York, the Knicks are still Brunson's team, and they need their leader to shepherd them into the postseason.

Well, on Saturday, March 22, Knicks fans got their answer, with the team's official PR department letting the NBA world know that Brunson has returned to the court and medical staff will re-evaluate him in one week's time.

“Jalen Brunson (sprained right ankle) is doing controlled court work, and his status will be updated in approximately one week,” Knicks PR wrote.

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So far during the 2024-25 NBA season, head coach Tom Thibodeau has utilized Brunson to an incredible degree by head coach Tom Thibodeau, averaging a career-high 35.4 minutes of action per game while attempting 18.7 shots from the field each game to go with 7.4 assists, three rebounds, and a steal.

Brunson has already logged 2,162 minutes over just 61 games, roughly 550 fewer than last season over 16 fewer games, and will likely see his on-court time ratcheted up even further in the playoffs, where he played an average of 39.8 minutes per game last season.

Now granted, when Brunson does return, he might not have to play as much as he did before as if there is a bright spot of his absence, it's that McBride has proven he's an NBA-caliber guard who deserves a solid run in the regular and postseason alike.

However, Knicks fans will be counting down the days until Brunson can return to the court, as this New York team simply isn't the same without the Villanova performer in the backcourt running the show as Thibodeau's triggerman.