Knicks’ Brunson has wrist surgery

NEW YORK — Jalen Brunson has undergone left wrist surgery and is expected to be back on the court when the New York Knicks begin defense of their NBA title, a person with knowledge of the details said Tuesday.

The NBA Finals MVP is expected to resume basketball activities later this summer, the person told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because there was no announcement about Brunson’s procedure.

Brunson’s surgery was first reported by SNY.

Brunson, who is left-handed, didn’t let the wrist injury slow him down on the Knicks’ run to their first championship since 1973. He scored 45 points when the Knicks won the title in Game 5 in San Antonio, after finishing with 36 when they made a record-setting comeback from a 29-point deficit in Game 4. The point guard averaged 32.6 points in the finals.

Dream trio among All-Star reserves

Angel Reese felt that Atlanta Dream teammates Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray were snubbed by not being selected as All-Star starters.

Now the Dream trio will get to play together in Chicago at the WNBA All-Star Game on July 25 after all three players were selected as reserves by the league’s coaches on Tuesday.

Reese had said after the All-Star starters came out that she felt her two Dream teammates should have been starting. It’s the fourth time that Atlanta has had three All-Stars.

Joining the Dream players as reserves are Washington teammates Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen. Both made the All-Star Game as rookies last season.

Toronto’s Marina Mabrey will be making her first All-Star appearance and gave the expansion franchise a player in the game. She matched the WNBA record with a 53-point game last month.

Other players selected by the coaches were New York’s Jonquel Jones, Minnesota’s Courtney Williams, Las Vegas’ Jackie Young and Seattle’s Dominique Malonga, who will also be making her All-Star debut.

Los Angeles teammates Nneka Ogwumike and Kelsey Plum also were picked. Ogwumike has been an All-Star 11 times and moved into a second-place tie with Diana Taurasi for most All-Star appearances, only trailing Sue Bird’s 13.

Coaches couldn’t vote for their own players.

Plum has been sidelined for the last few weeks with a leg injury and will be evaluated again later this month. If she can’t play, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert will choose a replacement.

New this year, WNBA greats Cynthia Cooper and Teresa Weatherspoon will serve as honorary general managers and select the two teams from the pool of All-Stars. The pair will select the teams at some point soon.

Chicago, Portland, Connecticut and Phoenix all don’t have All-Stars.

Kneeland had early stage CTE

EDITOR’S NOTE — This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org

AUSTIN, Texas — Former Dallas Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland, who died by suicide in November 2025 after a high-speed chase with police, had early stage chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a brain abnormality linked to repeated head trauma, his family announced Tuesday.

The Boston University CTE Center, which investigates the long-term consequences of repetitive brain trauma in athletes and others, analyzed Kneeland’s brain tissue after his death. Researchers determined Kneeland, who was 24, was in stage one of four of CTE.

CTE is a degenerative brain disease that has been found in athletes in contact sports, combat veterans and others who experience repetitive blows to the head. It has been known to cause violent mood swings, impulsive behavior and depression. It can be diagnosed only after death.

“While this diagnosis does not change the tragedy of his passing, it provides important context about some of the struggles he may have been facing. We share this information to help people understand what NFL and other high contact sport athletes might be struggling with,” Kneeland’s family, including his girlfriend, Catalina Mancera, said in a statement issued through the Concussion and CTE Foundation.

“Raising awareness is important to us. We continue to remember Marshawn with compassion for the person he was, rather than defining him by the final moments of his life. One Love,” the family said.

The abnormality has also been linked to deaths in the National Football League, as well as in hockey and soccer.

Kneeland shot himself after evading authorities in his vehicle and fleeing a car crash on foot.

The chase happened after police said Kneeland didn’t stop for Texas Department of Public Safety troopers over a traffic violation. Authorities lost sight of the vehicle before locating it crashed minutes later.

As authorities were looking for Kneeland after he fled the crash site on foot, a dispatcher told officers that people who knew him had received a group text from Kneeland “saying goodbye,” indicating he might be suicidal.

Dr. Chris Nowinski, CEO of the Concussion & CTE Foundation, noted Kneeland’s diagnosis comes even amid a modern era of concussion protocols in professional and college athletics and better safety equipment.

Kneeland started playing tackle football when he was 7 years old. He played at Western Michigan University before he was selected by the Cowboys in the second round of the 2024 NFL draft.

“We have no reason to believe the current generation is at a lower risk of CTE than previous generations. Concussion protocols do not prevent CTE, because CTE is caused by repeated head impacts, not just concussions,” Nowinski said. “If we want to reduce CTE risk, we must implement CTE prevention protocols and aggressively reduce the number and strength of head impacts at every level of the game.”