Knicks' Jalen Brunson says it's 'real cool' Pope Leo XIV is a Villanova alum

C.J. Holmes, New York Daily News on May 9, 2025

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NEW YORK — The Villanova Wildcats are now proudly represented in Manhattan and Vatican City.

After Thursday’s Conclave in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel, the world learned that the newly elected Pope Leo XIV, formerly Cardinal Robert Prevost, graduated from Villanova University, the basketball-obsessed school just outside Philadelphia, in 1977.

Villanova later produced Knicks stars Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart, who rose to fame on the hardwood decades after the pope’s time on campus.

“Real cool,” Brunson told reporters on Friday. “I’m just happy that we’re getting noticed for being a good school.”

During the period surrounding Pope Leo’s earlier time on campus, the Wildcats men’s basketball team, then coached by Steve Lappas, made NCAA Tournament appearances in 1995, 1996 and 1997 but never made it past the second round.

In 2025, Villanova stands alone as the only school in the nation with a pope and multiple national championships, one delivered by Brunson, Bridges and Hart in 2015-16 under former head coach Jay Wright, and another by Brunson and Bridges in 2017-18.

“Yeah, now they can be forgiven for their sins,” Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau joked.

Pope Leo XIV’s installation in Rome has Knicks fans viewing this season’s playoff success through a divine lens. Whether in jest or earnest, some now claim the 2024-25 team is one of destiny. Memes and photoshopped images of the pope with the Knicks have gone viral online.

Even Knicks superfan Spike Lee has drawn parallels. The fan-driven narrative is, if nothing else, hilarious.

Brunson, like Pope Leo, is a Villanova grad from Chicago, but the All-Star guard wasn’t interested in connecting the dots. Instead, aside from a few laughs with local reporters, he stayed focused on the task at hand: helping the Knicks build on their 2-0 series lead over the Boston Celtics.

The Knicks overcame 20-point deficits in Games 1 and 2, a feat some might see as divine intervention. They’ll continue their pursuit of their first NBA championship since 1973 on Saturday at Madison Square Garden.

“It’s really cool for [Pope Leo] and I’m happy for him,” Brunson said. “But I’m a little focused right now.”