DETROIT — Josh Hart, just like every player to ever dribble a basketball, had aspirations of being a star. The 30-point games. The game-winning shots. The commercials. Seeing his jersey messy and untucked on playgrounds. His imagination wanted it all.
That’s not who Hart is anymore, though. You’ve probably realized that. He’s fine scoring six points. He’s OK not shooting at all, even when some of sport’s most ruckus fans scream at him. He’s cool being the guy who dove for the loose ball in the game’s final seconds, only for it to be overshadowed by the guy who hit the game-winning shot.
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This is who Hart is today.
“It changed this year,” Hart said while walking back to the New York Knicks’ team bus after Saturday’s practice.
That may be surprising to hear.
Since coming into the NBA, the 30-year-old Hart has bounced from one team to another, seemingly being the same player with the same morals. He’s always been scrappy. He’s always been an able and willing passer. He always rebounded as well as any 6-foot-4 player to ever grace an NBA court. He’s had the intangibles. The role Hart plays now for the Knicks feels no different from how he carried himself with the Los Angeles Lakers, New Orleans Pelicans and Portland Trail Blazers. If Hart always felt like he could do more, he hid it well.
Maybe it’s not a coincidence, then, that with that shift in mindset, Hart is the best version of himself. He had nine triple-doubles during the regular season, passing Walt “Clyde” Frazier for most in Knicks history during a single season. Hart’s 13.6 points per game came with a career-best 9.6 rebounds and a career-best 5.9 assists. He’s played connector for a team that, at times, might have looked more intimidating during the regular season if it were allowed to play with an extra basketball.
Night in and night out, Hart has been a master of controlled chaos. He’s been a utility player, a master of most trades. He’s a low-maintenance offensive player who creates his own luck. The playoffs have been no different. Hart’s postseason numbers are nearly identical to those of the regular season, actually a touch better.
Every team needs a Josh Hart. The best teams have a Josh Hart. Apparently, though, it took Josh Hart time to realize that.
“I think it’s realizing … for me, I feel like I’ve grown in my faith more,” Hart said. “I’ve been trying to take on that servant mentality. I want to make sure I can cater to these guys and make sure that they’re successful and put in the right positions to blossom.”
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“Servant” has been a word Hart has used ad nauseam all season. He feels he has to be the connector offensively. Whatever the team needs to pull it all together, he’ll do that. To him, that’s his sole purpose on the floor.
Look no further than Game 3 against Detroit as an example. The game prior, the Knicks lost to the Pistons while playing a slow, stagnant offensive game. Karl-Anthony Towns barely shot the ball. After the loss, it was Hart who acknowledged the team’s downfall and who pointed out what needed to change.
So, of course, in Game 3, the Knicks played as fast as they had all season. Towns scored 31 points while getting up eight 3-point attempts, six more than he took in Game 2. And, of course, Hart assisted on four of those, most in transition, as the Knicks upped their tempo and put together as balanced an offensive performance as they had seen all season.
“All the other starters scored 20, and I was fine with scoring six points, getting 11 rebounds and nine assists,” Hart said. “I was happy to get those guys going and KAT going. This year, I’ve come to the realization of making sure (my teammates) are good.”
Josh Hart dives for a loose ball during Game 3 of the Knicks’ first-round series with Detroit. (Rick Osentoski / Imagn Images)
Throughout the season, when referencing his role on a team facing mega expectations, Hart would routinely bring up the Boston Celtics’ Jrue Holiday as an example of what sacrificing looks like and how it can contribute to winning at the highest level. Today, that is of the utmost importance for Hart.
Before arriving in Boston, Holiday was a two-time All-Star, once in Philadelphia and once in Milwaukee. He spent the bulk of the first 14 of his 16-year NBA career averaging between 15 and 21 points per game, all while being one of the league’s best perimeter defenders. A season didn’t pass during Holiday’s prime when he wasn’t taking at least 13 shots per game.
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Before the 2023-24 season, Holiday joined the Celtics, a championship-level team not in need of Holiday the All-Star, but Holiday the player whose will and smarts can fill in the gaps on a ridiculously talented roster. Boston won the championship that year, and Holiday averaged just 10 shots per game, the lowest since his rookie year. He averaged just 12.5 points, also the lowest since his rookie year. Yet, with Holiday in the fold doing the dirty work and filling all the gaps, the Celtics were able to get over the hump and back to the league’s mountaintop.
That’s what Hart wants to be for New York, and that’s what Holiday sees in Hart.
“Even though people might say, like, he doesn’t shoot the ball well enough or do whatever, he makes plays, and he makes the game easier for everybody else based off his play,” Holiday told The Athletic. “And it’s not just his effort. He’s really smart. He gets to the basket. He offensive rebounds. Things that guys don’t really want to do, he’s excellent at it.
“Guys who really take that to heart and can really play that type of game, I feel like you can be in the league as long as you want to if you play that way.”
Those qualities are why Hart’s teammates appreciate him and consider him such a big part of their success.
“Since the moment I’ve met him, since day one of being in the league, that’s who he is,” Jalen Brunson said. “That’s what he prides himself on.”
Comments like this are why it was so perplexing when Hart said it wasn’t until the summer that he became OK with never achieving traditional NBA stardom. His actions never suggested he had those aspirations. One would assume he came to that conclusion early in his career based on his approach to the game.
Maybe that’s what makes Hart special, though. Even though his mind told him one thing, his heart said another. And his play on the court always revealed the winner of that internal battle.
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It’s possible that the expectations of this season, the addition of talent and fear that Hart might miss out on something special spurred this change in mindset. To survive, one must adapt. It’s also possible that the person behind the basketball player grew, and it was reflected in all aspects of life.
“Once you start maturing, are more secure with yourself and not trying to do anything different, you learn who you are as a player and person,” Hart said. “You’re good with that. You don’t care about the outside noise.”
Hart is whatever the Knicks need him to be, which is the sign of a true professional. Hart, though, has always been that. He just had to embrace it internally, even if he portrayed something different.
Hart isn’t a star. He’s a star in his role.
“When Hart is playing well, you know that the Knicks are really good,” Holiday said. “I think guys like that, I guess they call us ‘Glue guys’ … he’s that heartbeat. They kind of go as he goes because of all the things that he does for the team.”
(Top photo of Josh Hart: Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)
