This doll is clutch.
A Knicks fan went viral this week for pampering her Jalen Brunson doll, and scoring the staff good luck within the playoffs with “reverse voodoo.”
Manhattan nurse Rachel Kim affectionately refers back to the plushie as “Lil’ Jalen,” and earlier than Recreation 4 of the Japanese Convention semifinals, iced and rotated the doll’s ankles in a TikTok video — aware of Brunson’s March ankle sprain, which prompted him to overlook 15 video games of the common season.
After Captain Clutch ended up scoring 39 factors that night time — main the Knicks to a 121-113 Recreation 4 win in opposition to the Boston Celtics and giving them a 3-1 lead within the collection — Kim’s video racked up over 380,000 views, and numerous feedback from followers thanking her for the victory.
“IT WORKED!!!” one fan commented, whereas one other proclaimed: “You made this happen”
“I was laughing so hard reading everything. Everyone is thanking me. People are like, ‘She’s an angel from above,’” stated Kim, 30, who graduated from Villanova College with Knicks capturing guard Josh Hart in 2017. Brunson can also be a ‘Nova alum.
“I thought the doll was so cute and so I was just playing around and trying to be funny. I didn’t think anything huge would happen like this.”
With solely 40 seconds left in Recreation 4, Kim posted a follow-up video giving the Brunson doll a “well-deserved ice bath” — which caught the eye of Brunson’s sister, Erica, who commented “OMG” with three laughing emojis.
The following morning, Kim posted herself in a automotive on her method to work with the caption “Casually going back to work after carrying the Knicks last night. And yes, I’m Ubering because I feel I deserve it.”
“Someone was like, ‘The city of New York should reimburse you,’” stated Kim, a Lengthy Island native who now lives in New Jersey.
Followers at the moment are begging her to proceed with the TLC till the Knicks convey house the NBA Championship.
“Everyone is telling me that I have to continue this,” she stated.
“Honestly, the pressure is on. I feel like I do have to continue this.”
Earlier than Recreation 5, she did her due diligence by checking the doll’s coronary heart with a stethoscope, bandaging his legs and even giving him a “little R and R,” full with cucumbers over his eyes and a scrunchie in his hair. Regardless of her finest efforts, the Knicks misplaced 127-102.
Due to all her arduous work, Kim was awarded two tickets to Friday’s Recreation 6 from StubHub, nonetheless she and her husband, Baron, are in Paris for his or her honeymoon.
She did convey Lil’ Jalen alongside to the Metropolis of Lights, the place he decompressed earlier than Friday night time’s sport by stress-free by the Eiffel Tower, resting in a Hermes bag and consuming croissants.
The Parisian therapy labored — Brunson scored 23 factors in Recreation 6, serving to the Knicks crush the Celtics 119-81, and taking them to their first Japanese Convention finals since 2000.
