Josh Hart speaks with Chris Haynes about the Game 1 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.
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SAN ANTONIO — To say that Josh Hart posted one of the oddest stats lines in NBA Finals history in the 2026 series opener Wednesday does not do it justice.
Not when “oddest” – 3 points on 1-for-5 shooting with 15 rebounds, six assists and four steals – means “the sort of lines Hall of Famer Bill Russell used to put up when he was stacking rings for the great Boston Celtics.”
That was the comp, though, after Hart checked an unusual array of boxes to help the New York Knicks grab their 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven championship round.
Russell is considered one of the game’s greatest centers and leaders, not necessarily in that order, for the way he fit his talents alongside a bevy of elite teammates. Together they won 11 titles in 13 years, with Russell’s scoring often his least important input.
Five times Russell turned in Finals performances that were precursors of Hart’s (at least 15 rebounds and six assists, but fewer than 10 points). The Celtics won four. Overall, the bearded defensive specialist scored fewer than 10 points in 13 of his 70 Finals games and Boston went 10-3.
Hart’s work was reminiscent in its level of over-achievement for a 6-foot-5 guard (Russell was 6-foot-9 wrestling with many rivals taller and broader than him). His 15 boards were the most by a backcourt player in a Finals game at least since 1968, matching Kobe Bryant’s 15 in Game 7 in 2010 and the same number by Magic Johnson in a pair of 1980 games. And the last players to grab game highs in rebounds and assists in their Finals debuts were Shaquille O’Neal (1995) and Larry Bird (1981).
Lofty company.
“It doesn’t surprise me,” said Jalen Brunson, Hart’s teammate in New York and in college at Villanova. “I learned that that’s just who he is. I mean, he was our leading rebounder in college for I think my final two years, whatever, something like that.
“His energy is just relentless, it doesn’t stop. I mean, he eats candy all the time. That tells you who he is. He’s a big kid with an absurd amount of energy.”
Behind only Brunson and center Karl-Anthony Towns, Hart was the Knicks’ third star of Game 1. He guarded multiple Spurs players. He pushed the pace on offense to try to beat San Antonio from setting up defensively in the halfcourt.
David Fizdale and Chris Bosh point out how Josh Hart has been making a positive impact without scoring for the New York Knicks.
He also logged a couple of other notable numbers in the box score: Hart did his work in just 26:47 of court time, limited by foul trouble in the first half. And yet, he had the night’s most impressive plus/minus at plus-22 in those short minutes.
Said Brunson: “When he gets a little chip on his shoulder, when he gets mad, he finds a way to get every board.”
Some of Hart’s most intriguing work came in a matchup created for him when San Antonio stuck towering Victor Wembanyama on him defensively. In those moments, trying to shoot over or get past the Spurs’ 7-foot-4 center mattered less than just making the long fellow work. By moving, by changing direction and by pulling back, Hart could steal some of Wemby’s oomph and draw him away from the rim, where his length is such an asset in help defense.
As capable as Wembanyama is, the 22-year-old acknowledged that sometimes his marvelous versatility doesn’t come naturally. He can guard smallish players, in other words, but not without grinding through some gears.
Asked Thursday about such assignments, he said: “I guess to answer we could talk for half an hour with my coaching staff. For me guarding smaller players, it’s quickness of feet. It’s true that it is a little difficulty. Like, I’m still learning, but I’ve learned a lot to change the mindset between guarding the rim and guarding a small. I really need to flip a switch.”
That was music to Hart’s and the Knicks’ ears.
“When you have someone like Victor guarding you, obviously he’s very comfortable being around the rim and [blocking or altering shots],” Hart said. “So you want to do your best to draw him out.
“I’m able to play right action or handoffs or ball screens where JB [Brunson], Mikal [Bridges], OG [Anunoby], Landry [Shamet], if he’s down the floor, as long as I get a good hit on the guards, they’re going to have open shots.”
Duty such as that is how Hart has established his value to the Knicks. The glue guy willing to sacrifice had bounced through the Lakers, the Pelicans and the Trail Blazers after being drafted by Utah in 2017 as the 30th overall pick. He arrived in New York in a February 2023 trade and now – nine seasons, four teams, three trades and seven head coaches in – has become essential, just three victories away from a championship.
It doesn’t matter when opposing coaches try to hide a big man on Hart as his defender, daring the Knicks guard to launch his inconsistent outside shot. Hart finds seams in most games where he can make a difference.
“Yeah, you know what Josh is going to do,” Towns said. “He’s going to play hard. He’s going to be a dawg. He’s going to go out there and find a way to get the job done. He’s going to do it at a high energy level and with a lot of physicality and determination. You never want to tell Josh to not do something.”
Josh Hart talks with the media ahead of Game 2 of the 2026 NBA Finals.
Hart, the father of 3-year-old twin sons, is an avid golfer, a soccer enthusiast and a wine connoisseur. He and his wife Shannon feel they have found a home in New York, largely by keeping priorities in line.
“We’re in the NBA Finals – there’s millions of people watching,” Hart said Thursday. “It’s easy to get wrapped up in human nature of wanting to get recognition, wanting to score the ball, wanting to show people what you can do on the biggest stage.
“I know for me, that’s not really my assignment. It takes a little bit of time to find that humility. For me, I found that with prayer and my faith.”
“But when you have that willingness to sacrifice – and I think Jose [Alverado] has it, myself has it, a lot of guys on the team have it, OG at times, Mikal at times, KAT at times — that breeds a championship culture.”
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Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.
