Normally, it wouldn’t be surprising to see “Stewart” get involved in metropolitan basketball affairs … but Breanna’s offseason is in full swing.
Instead, renowned businesswoman and television personality Martha Stewart was an unexpected entrant in New York Knicks action, revealing a close encounter with franchise face Jalen Brunson during a recent appearance on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”
Presented with a photo of herself sitting courtside at a Knicks game at Madison Square Garden, Stewart advised her legions of fans not to wear open-toed shoes while seated courtside. When the action drifted a little close to the sideline seating, Stewart endured what she called the “Brunson Fracture,” as the Knicks point guard’s attempt to grab a loose ball broke one of her toes.
“He stepped on my big toe with his foot,” Stewart recalled to Fallon. “That’s why I’m wearing open-toed shoes, because it’s the only kind of shoes I can wear now … He broke my toe.”
With Stewart mentioning an overtime game against the Indiana Pacers, one can deduce that the incident occurred during Game 1 of last spring’s Eastern Conference Finals.
Indiana’s infamous late comeback in that game, punctuated by Tyrese Haliburton’s equalizer at the end of regulation, was agonizing for every Knick fan. But it was excruciating for Stewart, who put off seeking medical attention to see if Brunson and the Knicks could pull off the win in overtime. Her perseverance, alas, went for naught, as the Pacers took the opener by a 138-135 final.
“I knew it was broken immediately,” the home and hospitality expert said. “He sat on my lap, too. He comes crashing down, sits on my lap, and I grabbed his arm, and his arm was icy cold. I thought ‘he’s playing, he’s a basketball player, he should be sweaty.’ … I said ‘it’s okay,’ that’s all he said, ‘it’s okay.’ He didn’t know he broke my foot. But he broke my foot. He’s not even that big, he’s only 6’2. He has big feet, though, and he bashed downward.”
To the amusement of Fallon and his audience, Stewart said she had a talk with Brunson’s parents Sandra and Knicks assistant coach Rick at some point after the incident. Cooler heads appeared to have prevailed: Stewart joked that “all [she] got out of it was a signed basketball for [her] grandchild” and referred to the Knicks captain as “super-duper” while introducing the story.
Sitting in the expensive seats at MSG has proven equally exciting for the spectators as it has for the players.
OG Anunoby, for example nearly ran over actress Anne Hathaway during a November 2024 game against Chicago (which the “Princess Diaries” star referred to as a “bucket list moment”), shortly before actress/signer Jennifer Hudson was hit with a ball swatted by Knicks sixth man Miles McBride in March. McBride offered his apologies to Hudson with a recorded message and a bouquet of flowers on her eponymous talk show.
