On February 9, 2023, Josh Hart was traded to the New York Knicks in a trade involving the Trail Blazers, 76ers, and Hornets. This is now the 4th different team he will have played for in his 5 years in the NBA.
Josh Hart joining the Knicks reunited him with college teammate and friend Jalen Brunson. It would have also been cool to see him reunite with Ryan Arcidiacono, who also played with them at Villanova, but he was traded from the Knicks in the same deal that acquired Josh Hart.
Brunson, Hart and Arcidiacono won the 2016 NCAA championship as teammates at Villanova.
(Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports)
Josh Hart played his first game as a Knick, on February 11th, and had a strong performance. In his Knicks debut, Hart had 11 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals, in 26 minutes.
Josh Hart won his first 8 games as a Knick, helping the Knicks to win 7 more games straight after his Knicks debut.
This season Hart averaged 9.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game while making 53% of his shots. He is also a solid defender and brings a lot of energy to the team.
Josh Hart has played in the NBA for 6 seasons and this was his first time making it to the playoffs.
Even though the Knicks were eliminated in the conference semifinals, Hart still played well in his first playoff appearance averaging, 10.4 Points, 7.4 Rebounds, and 2.2 Assists, making 48% of his shots.
Josh Hart has proven to be a great addition to the Knicks and continues to prove himself as a great player and teammate.
After this season he had the option to become a free agent but luckily he opted in to his $12.9M player option, so he will continue with the team next season.
Update May 10th 2024:
The Knicks are currently up 2-0 in the second round of the Playoffs against the Indiana Pacers, and Josh Hart has been a big part of helping the team make it this far.
Hart is performing very well in the playoffs so far, averaging more points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks than in the regular season.
In this year's playoffs so far Hart is averaging:
18 Points (almost 2x his regular season average of 9.4)
12.8 Rebounds (3rd most in the NBA, and extremely impressive for someone of his size)
5.3 Assists
1 Steal
1 Block
47% of shots made
44% on 3-pointers (11% higher than in the regular season)
46.8 Minutes played per game
Josh Hart has had very strong contributions to the Knicks this postseason and is probably a bit underrated by people who don't really watch the Knicks.
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