“I'm not even kidding”: Jalen Brunson and his wife Ali Marks’ sweet romance gesture led to their marriage after a decade of dating

Jalen Brunson and his wife Ali Marks do not always grab the spotlight, but the couple deserves as much attention as some of the NBA’s most popular power couples. Brunson still remembers the hallway where it all began. Long before packed. The moment with Ali Marks set the foundation for a relationship that would stretch across years.The duo endured a lot, including their long distance, Brunson’s astonishing fame that derailed their privacy, and whatnot. While Brunson built his name on the court, Ali watched him grow as one of the most popular and demanding NBA stars of this generation.They were teenagers when they first crossed paths, exchanging simple greetings between classes. At the time, both were seeing other people, and nothing suggested a future together. Over time, a spark turned into an inside joke that neither of them expected to last. “My name in his phone and his name in my phone was Jalen, your future husband, Ali, your future wife,” she told the Daily Mail. “I'm not even kidding. It was just a joke.”The joke stuck with them. Brunson’s rise through high school basketball drew attention, but Ali saw the work behind it. Early mornings, long practices, and a quiet belief that felt less like confidence and more like certainty.“They were great at basketball - the team in general - and Jalen was the best player on the team,” Ali said. “College recruiters would come, reporters would come, TV stations would come, and Jalen would be doing these interviews. No one second guessed it either. It was just like, ‘Yeah, our team is good. Jalen is really good. Obviously this is happening.’ I was just always so proud of him.”In September 2022, Brunson returned to the same high school gym where they first met and proposed. They married less than a year later in Chicago, marking the end of a decade-long journey that never really felt rushed.Distance tested them in ways neither expected. Brunson moved on to Villanova University, while Ali stayed in Illinois to pursue her studies. Nearly 750 miles separated them, but the connection held.“We both just understood the other person,” she explained. “Jalen didn't drink in college and he was very busy traveling and I was just in the library studying because I needed my grades to be high in order to go to PT school.”Life around them kept moving. Friends, classes, games. Still, they found time, often through late-night calls that became part of their routine. “Of course, we had other friends. We were constantly surrounded and hanging out with people, but we would see each other on FaceTime constantly - I feel so bad for my roommates looking back at it - and he was on my computer 24/7.”Later, Brunson went on to become one of college basketball’s most decorated players, eventually entering the NBA and building a career that now places him among the league’s most reliable guards. Today, that same bond shows up in quieter ways. At Madison Square Garden, Ali and their daughter Jordyn cheer from the stands.