Josh Hart speaks with Chris Haynes about the Game 1 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.<\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0Download the NBA App<\/a> SAN ANTONIO \u2014 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. \u00a0<\/p>\n Not when \u201coddest\u201d \u2013 3 points on 1-for-5 shooting<\/a> with 15 rebounds, six assists and four steals \u2013 means \u201cthe sort of lines Hall of Famer Bill Russell used to put up when he was stacking rings for the great Boston Celtics.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n That was the comp, though, after Hart\u00a0checked\u00a0an unusual array of boxes to help the New York Knicks grab their 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven championship round<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Russell is considered one of the game\u2019s greatest centers and leaders, not necessarily in that order, for the way he\u00a0fit\u00a0his talents alongside a bevy of elite teammates. Together they won 11 titles in 13 years, with Russell\u2019s scoring often his least important input.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Five times Russell turned in Finals performances that were precursors of Hart\u2019s (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\u00a0games\u00a0and Boston went 10-3.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Hart\u2019s 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\u2019s 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\u2019Neal (1995) and Larry Bird (1981). \u00a0<\/p>\n Lofty company.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt doesn\u2019t surprise me,\u201d said Jalen Brunson, Hart\u2019s teammate in New York and in college at Villanova. \u201cI learned that\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0just who he is. I mean, he was our leading rebounder in college for I think my final two years, whatever, something like that.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHis energy is just relentless, it\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0stop. I mean, he eats candy all the time. That tells you who he is.\u00a0He\u2019s\u00a0a big kid with an absurd amount of energy.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Behind only Brunson and center Karl-Anthony Towns, Hart was the Knicks\u2019 third star of Game 1.\u00a0He guarded multiple Spurs players. He pushed the pace on offense to try to beat San Antonio from setting up defensively in the halfcourt.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n David Fizdale and Chris Bosh point out how Josh Hart has been making a positive impact without scoring for the New York Knicks.<\/p>\n 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\u00a0the night\u2019s\u00a0most impressive plus\/minus at plus-22 in those short minutes.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Said Brunson: \u201cWhen he gets a little chip on his shoulder, when he gets mad, he finds a way to get every board.\u201d<\/p>\n Some of Hart\u2019s most intriguing work came in a matchup created for him when San Antonio stuck towering Victor\u00a0Wembanyama\u00a0on him defensively. In those moments, trying to shoot over or get past the Spurs\u2019 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\u00a0Wemby\u2019s\u00a0oomph\u00a0and draw him away from the rim, where his length is such an asset in help defense.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n As capable as Wembanyama is, the 22-year-old acknowledged that sometimes his marvelous versatility doesn\u2019t come naturally. He can guard smallish players, in other words, but not without grinding through some gears. \u00a0<\/p>\n Asked Thursday about such assignments, he said: \u201cI guess to answer we could talk for half an hour with my coaching staff. For me guarding smaller players,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0quickness of feet.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0true that it is a little\u00a0difficulty.\u00a0Like, I\u2019m\u00a0still learning, but\u00a0I\u2019ve\u00a0learned a lot to change the mindset between guarding the rim and guarding\u00a0a small. I really need to flip a switch.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n That was music\u00a0to\u00a0Hart\u2019s and the Knicks\u2019 ears.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you have someone like Victor guarding you, obviously he\u2019s very comfortable being around the rim and\u00a0[blocking or altering shots],\u201d Hart said. \u201cSo\u00a0you want to do your best to draw him out.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m able to play right action or handoffs or ball screens where JB\u00a0[Brunson], Mikal\u00a0[Bridges], OG\u00a0[Anunoby], Landry\u00a0[Shamet], if he\u2019s down the floor, as long as I get a good hit on the guards, they\u2019re going to have open shots.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Duty such as that is how Hart has\u00a0established\u00a0his value to the Knicks. The glue guy willing to sacrifice had bounced through the Lakers, the\u00a0Pelicans\u00a0and the Trail Blazers after being drafted by Utah in 2017 as the 30th\u00a0overall pick. He arrived in New York in a February 2023 trade and now \u2013 nine seasons, four teams, three trades and seven head coaches in \u2013 has become essential, just three victories away from a championship.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0matter 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.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, you know what Josh is going to do,\u201d Towns said. \u201cHe\u2019s going to play hard.\u00a0He\u2019s\u00a0going to be a dawg.\u00a0He\u2019s\u00a0going to go out there and find a way to get the job done.\u00a0He\u2019s\u00a0going to do it at a high energy level and with a lot of physicality and determination. You never want to tell Josh to\u00a0not\u00a0do something.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Josh Hart talks with the media ahead of Game 2 of the 2026 NBA Finals.<\/p>\n 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. \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re in the NBA Finals\u00a0\u2013 there\u2019s\u00a0millions of people watching,\u201d Hart said Thursday. \u201cIt\u2019s\u00a0easy 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.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI know for me, that\u2019s 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.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cBut when you have that willingness to sacrifice\u00a0\u2013 and\u00a0I think Jose\u00a0[Alverado]\u00a0has it, myself has it, a lot of guys on the team have it, OG at times, Mikal at times, KAT at times\u00a0\u2014\u00a0that breeds a championship culture.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him\u00a0here<\/a>, find\u00a0his archive here<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0follow him on X<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0Complete coverage: 2026 NBA Finals<\/a><\/p>\n