Jalen Brunson and the toddler obsessed with his 3-point celebration - ESPN

With 4:49 remaining in the fourth quarter, Jalen Brunson splashed a 3-pointer in the corner to give him 42 points against the Miami Heat on Dec. 21. He looked at his right hand, his ring and pinkie fingers folded down, leaving three fingers remaining, and he brought it under his nose quickly as he ran down the court displaying his trademark 3-point celebration.

Somewhere in the Madison Square Garden crowd, a 3-year-old fan who went viral for doing her best Brunson impression all summer mimicked his gesture.

On Oct. 22, Myleen Rulloda posted a compilation on Instagram of her daughter, Rya. The videos included Rya holding a Brunson doll and often yelling his surname and doing his celebration while posing for photos. Rulloda, a New York Knicks fan since the 1990s, wrote: «POV: your daughter is obsessed with Jalen Brunson.»

The post garnered over 1.7 million views and 180,000 likes. Two days later, Brunson commented an emoji of a hand heart.

«I didn't even think anything was going to go beyond him commenting it. And honestly I didn't even think he would comment, period,» Rulloda told ESPN. «I didn't even think anyone would see this video. I just thought it was just for my friends and family.»

As Rulloda's compilation video gained traction, the Knicks reached out and invited the family to the game against the Heat. She admitted she was «super shocked» and never would've thought that her post would go viral.

Almost two months to the day of Rulloda's post, Brunson met Rya and her family at the Garden before the game. He had a simple message after walking into the room.

«Nice to meet you guys — finally.»

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