Jalen Brunson is following in the footsteps of NBA stars like Michael Jordan, LeBron James, and Steph Curry—and not only by securing a championship ring.
Those all-time greats are also pros at building their <a href="https://bitcomme.com/gen-z-entrepreneurs-optimistic-about-future-of-business-in-canada/” title=”Gen Z Entrepreneurs Optimistic About Future of Business in Canada”>business portfolios, and after leading the New York Knicks to the 2026 NBA championship, Brunson is doing the same. In June, the reigning Finals MVP announced he was joining fast-casual chain Just Salad as a partner and equity owner.
Brunson is also playing a role in Just Salad’s brand strategy, including by starring in the company’s latest campaign, which is rolling out today. Marketing Brew got an exclusive look at the filming of the ads and spoke with Brunson and Just Salad execs about the future of the collaboration, which is rooted in shared tristate roots.
“We really wanted a relationship that was more than just marketing, and we really want him to be a true partner,” Just Salad CMO Jennifer Lally told us. “We were really excited about the possibility of making this a long-term partnership.”
Pride and joy
Just Salad’s inaugural campaign with Brunson, called “New York Always Knew,” hit major platforms including billboards, transit stations, and CTV in the tristate area on Monday; socialcontent started going live about a week ago. The campaign will run for about a month leading up to the start of the NBA season, Lally said, and in November, the content will shift to be more product-focused.
The current ads center around what Lally described as the “shared New York DNA” between Brunson, who was born just outside of the city in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and Just Salad, which was founded and headquartered in Manhattan.
“The campaign is a celebration of that fandom, and this idea of belonging, and the distinct, New York confidence,” Lally said. “We really want to connect the sense of ownership fans feel around Jalen with Just Salad.”
In one version, which Marketing Brew watched Brunson film in August, a fan reflects on how Brunson earned his nickname, Captain Clutch, when the camera cuts to him eating a salad one table away.
Brunson told us that even as he prioritizes his training, he’s exploring mutually beneficial brand partnerships and working ad shoots into his schedule. Last week, he and his family announced that they’d founded a marketing agency, Thirty Third Management Group, in part to manage his endeavors outside of basketball.
Being on camera for an ad, as opposed to during a game, has gotten easier over the years, he said, and is made easier when “I’m asked to be myself,” which he said is the case with Just Salad.
“We were looking for something that felt true to myself and taking the healthier approach to my diet, and so to be able to partner with them…made sense,” Brunson told us, later adding that “I wanted to do something that was different from what I’ve done and expand my portfolio.”
Let him cook
Nick Kenner, the founder and CEO of Just Salad, said he has wanted to work with Brunson for years. Kenner, a lifelong Knicks fan, was born and raised in Manhattan, and he first approached Brunson’s agent a few years ago. At the time, the logistics didn’t work out for both parties, Kenner said; Just Salad instead partnered with Isaiah Hartenstein, who now plays for the Oklahoma City Thunder but was on the Knicks at the time.
The ads starring Hartenstein performed well, Kenner told us, and it led him to double down on the idea of eventually working with Brunson, as he was convinced there was an “obvious brand match.”
“We’ve grown restaurant by restaurant, customer by customer,” Kenner said. “To an extent, Jalen is very similar…He just has methodically gotten better every single year.”
In 2025, the Just Salad team struck up talks with Brunson’s people again after hearing he was considering a restaurant partnership, Lally said. The teams spent months during the NBA season ironing out the deal, and Brunson eventually inked the contract the day after the Knicks’ ticker-tape parade, Kenner said. It’ll be only the second athlete partnership for the brand.
As the campaign gets up and running, Lally told us she’ll be tracking same-store sales, new-customer trials, and share of voice in the market compared to competitors.
“The campaign has to make you feel something, but it also has to make you order something,” she said.
From a longer-term perspective, Lally said she expects the work with Brunson will help establish a baseline for Just Salad’s approach to athlete partnerships. Kenner’s hopes are even higher.
“I think this has the power to be similar to what Michael Jordan did with McDonald’s,” he said. “We’re taking a global icon who’s genuinely authentic about his love for Just Salad. This is going to be all over the place, and we couldn’t be prouder.”
