Despite being the most valuable team in the NBA, the New York Knicks haven’t lifted a championship in over 50 years. When Josh Hart first landed in New York, he felt some pressure to break this streak
During the beloved ‘Roommates Show’, Jalen Brunson and Hart discussed the nerves they faced when they joined the Knickerbockers. Though he was excited to play in the Big Apple, Hart couldn’t shake the anxious feelings that came with the change.
“But what if I’m trash when I get there? What if I’m terrible and they’re gonna boo me?” the 29-year-old confessed to his teammate, Brunson.
Before heading to New York, Hart had played for smaller market teams in New Orleans and Portland. To go from there, to the ‘Mecca’ of basketball, brought some nerves for the forward. He was particularly afraid of being booed by the passionate Knicks fans (a harrowing experience if your name is not Trae Young).
Thankfully for Hart, he was always the type of player who would resonate with New Yorkers. As he explained it,
“Biggest thing they want to see, as JB said, is be accountable. Put the work in, put the effort in. They love the genuine, authentic player, you know, blue collar… I might not always make shots or miss shots or do whatever it is, but I’m always going to have that like, never kinda give up grind.“
It’s exactly that grind that the city of New York and coach Tom Thibodeau respect, and it’s why the Nova Boys have rallied so much more support from the city than other modern iterations of the Knicks.
The Villanova Knicks are a team built on hard work and chemistry
When New York traded for Josh Hart in February 2023, his Villanova teammate Jalen Brunson was ecstatic. He knew what kind of player Hart was and what he could do for New York.
During his debut, the forward displayed all his tenacity, tallying 11 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists and steals each in a tight win against Utah. After the game, Brunson described Hart as “an unselfish player” and a “dude who just wants to win“, stating, “He’s always been that player.”
JB saw it first-hand during the Wildcats’ 2016 NCAA championship run, where Hart was awarded unanimous first-team All-BIG EAST honors. With Mikal Bridges, Donte DiVincenzo, Brunson, and Hart, the core of that 2016 NCAA title, the New York Knicks want to replicate that brand of high-intensity team basketball.
DiVincenzo, Bridges, Hart, and even OG Anunoby, are all scrappy, hard-nosed players who will dive for a loose ball 10 out of 10 times. Nothing could fit Tom Thibodeau’s “no excuses” approach better than this roster. And they’ll be expecting some silverware to show for it. How far do you think the Nova Knicks will go during the 2024-25 NBA season?
