NEW YORK — Watching Josh Hart play basketball, it’s hard to believe there isn’t something fueling the chaos.

He’s on the move all day, like a marathon runner. The 6-foot-4 New York Knicks guard — wing or whatever his position is — rebounds the basketball like he’s eight inches taller. He plays with an unforgiving physicality.

So it probably wouldn’t be a surprise to learn that in Hart’s locker, before every game, is an iced vanilla latte — a double shot of espresso — with almond milk. It gets delivered as part of his pregame ritual. And that’s just a drop in the bucket of Hart’s caffeine intake on a game day, as he estimates he drinks somewhere between 500 and 600 milligrams of caffeine.

For reference, an eight-ounce cup of plain, black coffee can have anywhere between 95 and 200 milligrams of caffeine.

Hart said he needs a copious amount of caffeine to get through the day. But it’s not so that he can be the tireless player we see on the court.

It’s so that, given the demands and time commitment of his job, Hart can be the best father possible.

“It really started when I had kids,” said Hart, who, along with his wife Shannon, has 2-year-old twin boys. “I have to try and function.”

Last week, the Knicks had back-to-back games starting with the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday and the Orlando Magic on Wednesday. In the game against Memphis, Hart logged 30 minutes, scoring eight points and grabbing eight rebounds. A 7:30 p.m. ET tipoff at Madison Square Garden usually has the game ending somewhere around 10 p.m. By the time Hart gets to the locker room, hears from head coach Mike Brown, cools down, showers and does media, he’s likely not leaving the arena until close to 11 p.m. Then, given New York traffic, he’s probably not walking into his home until close to midnight. When he goes to sleep depends on how quickly the adrenaline wears off and/or if the caffeine consumption from that day is no longer pumping through his bloodstream.

Josh Hart with his twin boys, Haze (left) and Hendrix. (Jamie McCarthy / Getty Images)

Regardless, Hart wakes up at the same time every morning. It’s as if he has a 9-to-5 job. It’s earlier than the sportswriters who sit comfortably covering him as he puts his body on the line nightly. In order to be the father he wants to be in the midst of his unique work schedule, he has to.

“I wake up at 7:30 every morning,” Hart said. “The (boys) are in a little school. … If I don’t see them in the morning, I might not see them all day.”

On a game day, Hart’s caffeine intake is something like this: He’ll wake up to spend time with his kids, see them off to school and have a double-shot latte. Once his kids are off and he spends a little time with his wife, he eats lunch and takes a nap. He’ll have more caffeine after waking up, then a significant amount more before the game, as part of a pre-workout.

On off days, Hart said his caffeine intake is about half of what it is on game days.

Hart prefers latte-based drinks, but he also dabbles in energy drinks. He combines the caffeine with his addiction to Mike and Ike candy, which he keeps in bulk in his locker. Before the start of the season, Hart was named the “Chief Candy Officer” of the fruit-flavored treat.

Got them Mike and Ike’s with me at all times https://t.co/l5VczOgGSC

— Josh Hart (@joshhart) October 23, 2025

“I’ve been eating these candies since I was a kid, and I still keep boxes stashed everywhere — at home, in my locker, on the plane,” Hart said in a press-release announcement last month.

Maybe that makes it easier to understand why Hart plays with the energy of a squirrel. But he played like this before his children came into his life, before caffeine became ever-present in his bloodstream.

“I don’t think so,” Hart said when asked if he needs caffeine at this stage to continue to be the player he’s been, “but I’m sure it helps.”

After a slow start to the season, after dealing with multiple injuries, having a new head coach and a new role, Hart has looked more like himself on the basketball court as of late — a sharp-minded player with never-ending energy to insert a different rhythm. That’s who he’s always been.

On Nov. 2, after scoring just 11 combined points in the previous four games, Hart tallied 14 points and nine rebounds in a win over the Chicago Bulls that snapped a three-game losing skid for the Knicks.

“You saw Josh Hart,” Jalen Brunson said afterward. “The one we know and love.”

Just hours later, Hart was up at 7:30 a.m. so that his boys could see Josh Hart the father, who they know and love.

Caffeine can have the credit on that one.