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This summer, doctors gave Josh Hart the news that he required a joint replacement, which would prevent him from ever playing again.<\/p>\n
Editor\u2019s Note: Read more NBA coverage from The Athletic\u00a0here<\/a>. The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA or its teams.\u00a0<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n TARRYTOWN, N.Y. \u2014 Josh Hart will not undergo previously expected surgery on his right ring finger. Instead, he will play through the pain for the rest of his career, he said Thursday.<\/p>\n The injury that forced the New York Knicks wing to play with a splint for all of the 2025-26 season now requires a \u201cfull joint replacement,\u201d an operation that would end his NBA career, Hart explained.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t have the banging, repetitive (motion),\u201d Hart said after a team practice. \u201cGrabbing a rebound, palming it, shooting, catching the ball, doing all that: You can\u2019t do that. So, if I did a joint replacement, then I wouldn\u2019t be able to play.\u201d<\/p>\n Hart is 31 years old, is fresh off an NBA championship and, of course, is not done playing. He will continue to protect the jagged ring finger on his right hand the same way he did a season ago, wearing a splint or wrapping it whenever he plays.<\/p>\n Hart suffered the injury during the 2025 Eastern Conference finals, when the Knicks faced the Indiana Pacers. He underwent offseason surgery after the series, but aggravated the finger while guarding Knicks wing Mikal Bridges during an inter-squad scrimmage that summer. Hart said at the start of last season that the plan would be to play for all of 2025-26 while wearing protective gear on his finger, then to undergo a second surgery to fix the issue come the offseason.<\/p>\n This summer, doctors gave him the news that he required a joint replacement, which would prevent him from ever playing again.<\/p>\n \u201cI guess it\u2019s either wrap it till I retire (or) cut it off,\u201d Hart said. \u201cI guess that\u2019s the other option. So that\u2019s really the only alternative: either joint replacement, let it go, or amputation.\u201d<\/p>\n The fourth finger on Hart\u2019s right hand looks like an M.C. Escher painting, one bone pointing in one direction, another veering in another with the top one at a diagonal again.<\/p>\n \u201cJosh, he\u2019s a handsome man,\u201d Knicks head coach Mike Brown said. \u201cBut that finger is uggglyyy.\u201d<\/p>\n It leads to discomfort, too.<\/p>\n At the beginning of last season, Hart said there were times when his hand would go numb while playing. The injury also affected a nerve.<\/p>\n \u201cSome days, it\u2019ll be good. Some days it\u2019ll hurt to catch the ball,\u201d Hart said. \u201cIt varies. I wish I could tell you when I wake up, what\u2019s gonna be good, what\u2019s gonna be bad. Some days it\u2019s good, like a regular functioning finger; and other days, it hurts to just close my hand, to make a fist.\u201d<\/p>\n In spite of the injury, Hart posted the best-shooting season of his career in 2025-26, most notably nailing a career-high 41 percent of his 3-point attempts during the regular season. His effective field-goal percentage, a statistic that accounts for the value of 2-pointers versus 3-pointers, was the best of his career, as well, all while his injury, as he put it, \u201cdeteriorated.<\/p>\n \u201cThe joint and the bone and everything,\u201d Hart said. \u201cThat\u2019s what it will be. So I\u2019ll do (the joint replacement) probably when I retire. Hopefully I can make (my finger) straight. It\u2019s a little off-center if y\u2019all didn\u2019t realize. So I\u2019m hoping after that joint replacement, it can get a little straighter.\u201d<\/p>\n Hart is eligible for an extension with the Knicks. On media day, he said he \u201cdidn\u2019t think it will get done.\u201d The Knicks are scheduled to pay him $43.3 million over the next two seasons, including a team option for $22.4 million for 2027-28.<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n Fred Katz<\/a>\u00a0is a senior NBA writer for The Athletic.\u00a0Follow Fred on Twitter\u00a0@FredKatz<\/a><\/p>\n