Jalen Brunson has launched Thirty Third Management Group, a family-owned brand advisory firm that will run his off-court business and represent college athletes earning NIL money, women’s pro athletes and other clients.
The Knicks captain announced the company Wednesday. The name comes from where his NBA career started. The Dallas Mavericks drafted him 33rd overall in 2018, a second-round pick who has since become an All-Star and, according to the company’s announcement, the 2026 NBA champion and Finals MVP.
Brunson is keeping it in the family. His mother, Sandra Brunson, will serve as president. She has managed his business off the court for years, and now she has the title to go with it. His sister, Erica Brunson, is director of client services. Connor Cashaw, Brunson’s high school teammate and longtime friend, is director of business development.
“My family has been with me every step of the way, and everything we do is rooted in trust,” Jalen Brunson said. “Thirty Third gives us the chance to take ownership of my off-court business, to build something that reflects who we are, and to do it together.”
A brand advisory firm handles the business side of a public figure’s life outside their main job. For an athlete, that means endorsement deals, brand partnerships, appearances, and charitable work. It’s different from an agent, who negotiates player contracts with teams.
Jalen Brunson will be the firm’s first and biggest client, but the plan is to grow well past him. Thirty Third says it will represent professional athletes, executives, entrepreneurs, and charitable foundations. It’s also going after college athletes who make money from their name, image, and likeness, better known as NIL, a market that has exploded since the NCAA started allowing those deals in 2021.
The firm is also building a practice dedicated to women’s professional sports, which have seen rapid growth in viewership, sponsorship money and player salaries over the past few years.Sandra Brunson told Bloomberg that athletes today have “many tentacles” to what they want to do beyond the game. She said that is creating a need for more specialized, one-on-one attention.
The company is based in New York. The law firm Meister Seelig & Schuster is its legal counsel, and Focus Financial Partners serves as financial advisors to Brunson, his family and the firm.
The move fits how Brunson has always handled his business. At a Wall Street Journal panel in July, he said he keeps his team close.
“Basically everything runs to my family, friends of family,” he said. He added that he was lucky to have parents who had “been through this already.” His father, Rick Brunson, played nine seasons in the NBA and later coached. Rick is now an assistant on the Knicks bench.
The family approach has also made Brunson a punchline. At the ESPYs, the host roasted Jalen and Rick with the line, “Nepotism is cooler when a Black guy does it.
Brunson isn’t the first star to keep his business inside a trusted circle. LeBron James started LRMR Marketing in 2005 with childhood friends Maverick Carter, Rich Paul, and Randy Mims. That company eventually grew into the SpringHill Company and a much larger business empire. Brunson is running a similar play, just with his mom in the president’s chair.
