Jalen Brunson was cleared on Thursday's injury report after carrying a day-to-day tag, ending his absence ahead of New York's opener against the Raptors. He is available for the 7:30 PM ET tip, giving the Knicks their starting point guard for the start of the 2026-27 season.
What happened
Brunson went from Day-To-Day to Cleared on the injury report issued Thursday, Oct. 15 at 6:05 PM ET, hours ahead of the 7:30 PM tip against the Raptors. The report lists no detail and no comment on the clearance. He had been Day-To-Day since Monday's report, which listed a Rest/Other issue. Before that, he was cleared from a separate day-to-day issue on Sep. 24, after an initial Day-To-Day listing for a left wrist and arm issue on Sep. 6. No return timeline was ever announced for any of those listings.
What it means for the Knicks
Brunson is set for New York's season opener against the Raptors, the team's first game of the 2026-27 season, with the Knicks entering at 0-0 since no regular-season games have been played yet. Last season he averaged 26.0 points, 6.8 assists and 3.3 rebounds in 35.0 minutes across 74 games. With him out, the minutes load had shifted toward OG Anunoby (33.2 min, 16.7 pts), Mikal Bridges (32.8 min, 14.4 pts) and Karl-Anthony Towns (31.0 min, 20.1 pts), with Josh Hart, Miles McBride, Landry Shamet, Mitchell Robinson and Jordan Clarkson also seeing extended run. His clearance restores the starting backcourt for the opener.
What to watch
The next injury report will show whether Brunson's status holds through the Raptors game and beyond. No expected-return timeline has been announced, since he has now been cleared rather than ruled out. His workload in the opener, and whether he appears on subsequent reports, will be the markers to track as the 2026-27 season begins.
Is Jalen Brunson playing vs Raptors?
Yes. He was cleared on the Thursday, Oct. 15 injury report, 6:05 PM ET, after being listed Day-To-Day, and is available for the 7:30 PM ET opener against Toronto.
When will Jalen Brunson be back?
He is already back. The report cleared him from Day-To-Day status on Oct. 15, and no expected-return date was needed since he is not listed as out.