After stops in Australia and the CBA, Rick Brunson made it to the NBA on December 2, 1997, when he was signed as a free agent by the Portland Trail Blazers. He appeared in 38 games for the Blazers in 1997-98, averaging 4.3 ppg, and moved to New York for the 1998-99 campaign, when he averaged 1.0 ppg in 17 games.
Brunson, a 6-4 guard, started his final three years at Temple. He averaged 12.0 points, 3.9 rebounds and 4.1 assists in his four-year career, including highs of 16.7 ppg and 5.9 rpg as a senior in 1994-95, when he earned First Team Atlantic 10 Conference honors. After playing the 1995-96 season in Australia, Brunson joined the Quad City Thunder of the CBA and averaged 11.6 ppg and 6.8 apg in 56 games in 1996-97. He played well for the Orlando Magic in their summer camp but was cut prior to the 1997-98 NBA season, so he returned to the CBA where he averaged 23.9 ppg in eight games for the Connecticut Pride. That earned his call-up by the Trail Blazers, for whom he averaged 4.3 points, 2.6 assists and 1.5 rebounds in 16.4 minutes per game, drawing 10 starts.
Brunson signed with the New York Knicks as a free agent on January 21, 1999.
1998-99 NOTES
Brunson saw very limited playing time for the Knicks, appearing in 17 games and scoring 17 points in a total of 95 minutes. In addition to averaging 1.0 ppg, he averaged 1.1 assists, 0.6 rebounds and 0.53 steals per game, shooting .286 from the field (6-for-21) and .278 from the free throw line (5-for-18). He got his most extensive playing time in the season finale, when he played 24 minutes against Miami on May 5 and led the Knicks with a career-high 12 assists. That was more than half of his season's total of 19. He also had three rebounds and two steals, but was scoreless in the game, missing all four field goal attempts.
He scored a season-high four points, shooting 2-for-3 from the field, in seven minutes against Detroit on February 28. Brunson played in nine playoff games for the Knicks in a similar role, scoring six points and dishing two assists in a total of 18 minutes. He dished a career-high 12 assists, grabbed 3 rebounds and notched 3 steals in a 101-88 win over the Miami Heat on May 5. He was on the injured list April 4-24 due to kidney stones, and averaged 17.5 ppg, 7.3 apg, 2.3 rpg and 2.29 spg in 21 games for Connecticut of the CBA.
1997-98 NOTES
After beginning the season in the CBA, where he averaged 23.9 points in eight games for the Connecticut Pride and was named CBA Player of the Week on Nov. 22, Brunson signed with the Portland Trail Blazers on December 2 and made his debut against Orlando that night. He tallied 10 points against Utah in his second NBA game on December 5 and 11 against the Lakers in his next outing on December 8. In his first three NBA games he shot 5-for-6 from the field, 3-for-3 from three-point range and 8-for-9 from the foul line. He went on to play in 38 games with Portland, making 10 starts including eight in a row March 8-20.
Included in that stretch was his first career double-double, 13 points and a career-high 10 assists against Denver on March 14. He averaged 4.3 points, 2.6 assists and 1.5 rebounds in 16.4 minutes. Brunson tallied a career-high 19 points, all in the fourth quarter, at the Lakers on February 4. Although Brunson was on Portland's playoff roster, he did not appear in any of the four games against the Lakers.
