On Friday, a report linking Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, and Mikal Bridges to former Villanova teammate Matt Kennedy as part of their financial advisor team went viral. The report claimed that the New York Knicks stars had become clients of Goldman Sachs Private Wealth Management through Kennedy.
Brunson addressed the report the following day, questioning the source behind the claim. His response quickly caught the attention of the NBA community, with fans piling into the discussion and bringing their own theories and jokes.
A Bloomberg report , syndicated by Wealth Management, stated that the Knicks' 2026 championship was "a win for Goldman's massive wealth-management business," which counts some Knicks players among its clients.
According to the report, Kennedy is part of the team handling some of Goldman Sachs' business with Knicks players. Kennedy, though, declined to comment.
On X, Shortsqueez, a self-described "finance newsletter read by 250,000 bankers + investors," claimed Friday that Kennedy had become the financial advisor for Brunson, Hart, and Bridges.
Brunson responded directly to the viral post:
"Matt is my guy, but I need your sources."
The Knicks captain's message only fueled online reactions.
"Pablo (Torre) looking into this right now," one sports fan wrote.
"Boy, you can't run from this investigation. Lol," a n Oklahoma City Thunder supporter added.
"Yo, king of New York, why they lying on your name," a basketball observer commented.
Torre's name surfaced in the reactions because of his reporting on the Los Angeles Clippers' salary-cap circumvention deals involving Kawhi Leonard. The journalist and podcaster, however, had no known involvement in the Brunson-Kennedy report.
Other fans focused less on Brunson's response and more on the financial-advisor angle.
"So much for client confidentiality! That's the hallmark of a professional Financial Advisor," one basketball observer wrote .
"When your financial advisor has actual championship experience," another NBA supporter remarked.
Some fans also speculated about how the report came together.
"They probably just saw you in meetings and connected the dots," an X user suggested.
Goldman Sachs counts several high-profile celebrities, including athletes, among its clients, and Kennedy is part of the company's wealth-management operation. That makes it possible for a business relationship between the Knicks players and Goldman Sachs to form through Kennedy.
Still, the former Dallas Mavericks guard's response made clear that he wanted to know the source behind the specific claim that Kennedy was serving as the trio's financial advisor.
Kennedy played for Villanova during the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons, and was part of the Wildcats' supporting cast during Brunson, Hart, and Bridges' time at the school. Hart left for the NBA after the 2016-17 campaign, while Brunson and Bridges remained at Villanova for another championship run.
For Brunson, the viral report was less about the claim itself and more about how the information reached the public. His request for the source added another layer to a story that had already generated plenty of attention online.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network .
