Josh Hart scanned the table. His trademark smirk visible for NBA fans to see. There was a trophy. Microphones. His brothers.
In the snap of a finger, I could see that Hart was flooded with memories of the past as a new one was being internalized. Hart, Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges sat shoulder to shoulder inside Cleveland’s Rocket Arena after their New York Knicks swept the Cavaliers to earn the franchise’s first trip to the NBA Finals since 1999. The three Knicks were at a podium high off the ground, fresh off their greatest feat as teammates at this level. Nearly a decade earlier, though, this trio went through something similar. As members of the Villanova men’s college basketball team, Hart, Bridges and Brunson won national championships together.
Well, sort of.
“I need to correct you: Mikal and I won two,” Brunson interrupted when this media member asked Hart about the former college teammates sitting together after winning the Eastern Conference in the NBA. “Josh won one. Continue.”
Hart took Brunson’s jab on the chin, a rare occurrence for the man who has enough jokes to have an hour-long stand-up routine. Hart smiled, holding in any clap back he might have had cued up, and then acknowledged the moment with the emotion that it deserved.
“It’s something that is surreal,” Hart answered. “Whenever you’re in college and in that locker room, you know the goal is the NBA. You know the percent chance of you all being on the same team is slim, if not none. It’s something you talk about and dream about, but you know the reality is almost impossible. The fact that it actually came to fruition is super cool because I know the time that these guys put in and I know where their hearts are.
“We already share a bond and (are) brothers for life, and this is just another step. Obviously, this isn’t the ultimate goal, but you just keep adding memories. These are memories that we’ll have for a lifetime.”
Since this Villanova trio came together, the Knicks have reached levels they hadn’t this century. Last year, the franchise played in the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in 25 years. This season, it ended a 27-year NBA Finals drought — the team opens its series in San Antonio Wednesday night. There’s something about these three that works. The proof is in the wins, both in college and now professionally.
In a sport where careers can touch all four corners of the Earth, these three were able to find their way back to one another. Brunson was the first to join, back in 2022 as a free agent after his former team, the Dallas Mavericks (and many others), didn’t see what the Knicks saw in the former second-round pick. Brunson went from being a piece to the whole pie in New York and became Gotham’s knight with his huge scoring performances and late-game heroics. Hart was next, via trade in 2023. His career was good, but he had spent the first six years bouncing around from one bad team to the next. Together, they played a major role in the Knicks feeling like they were in position to take a big swing, and that came in the form of Bridges.
Throwback to Jalen Brunson finding out the Knicks traded for Josh Hart —
Brunson’s reaction was so pure. ✊🤣
(via @capj1344)
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) August 16, 2025
In 2024, the summer after New York made back-to-back Eastern Conference semifinals appearances for the first time since 2000, the Knicks traded five first-round picks to the crosstown rival Brooklyn Nets for Bridges. Bridges had long been one of the league’s premier role players, but he had never made an All-Star Game. It was a hefty price for a player of his stature, but team president Leon Rose saw Bridges as the ideal puzzle piece next to Brunson, Hart and OG Anunoby, allowing the franchise to compete with the likes of the Boston Celtics. And it worked.
It’s been a winding journey for this trio over these two years, but one I’ve been able to observe up close — I landed on the beat in that same timeframe, after seven seasons covering the Detroit Pistons, and have spent the past two seasons covering this group every day.
And here is what I’ve observed: The Nova Knicks are a brotherhood, and not one fabricated for the cameras.
The Protector
Bridges’ Knicks tenure got off to a rocky start.
He spent the first 19 games shooting well below his normal efficiency. His defense wasn’t what was advertised to fans, who started making Bridges the subject of their ire as the team with championship aspirations got out to an 11-8 start. To many unsettled supporters, the Bridges trade was starting to look like the worst the franchise had made, and at that point, that was saying a lot. To me, Bridges looked lost in his role on the court and lacking confidence.
Yet, as he was trying to find his way and the aggravation grew around him, it was Hart, two years his senior, who was running to his defense. As Bridges stacked one poor game with another, reporters were looking for answers to why things were going wrong. Bridges was reserved, saying all of the right things that media-trained athletes are taught to do. I’ve got to be better. It’s a long season. I just have to make shots.
Hart, though, would find any available microphone to make sure his teammate knew he had his back, often acknowledging that it can take time for a player to adjust to a new situation. There were multiple games in a row in which I watched Hart go to bat for Bridges. He wanted to make his support as loud publicly as it was behind the scenes.
Bridges and Hart were able to have the last laugh in December. Bridges did it via his play, when he averaged 21.5 points while shooting 56 percent from the field and 43 percent from 3. A renaissance took place on Christmas Day, when Bridges scored 41 points in a three-point win over the Spurs, the team they will now see in the finals. Bridges didn’t take a victory lap after the game. I remember going to him at his locker and asking if he saw ESPN’s Disney animation of Donald Duck doing his celebration. He hadn’t yet. Bridges didn’t take this time to bask in his glory. He remained just as even-keeled as he had during his rough patch.
Hart, however, did all of his talking for him. He was his Paul Heyman.
“Now that he found (it), y’all are not saying nothing,” Hart said. “Get your damn apology forms out. I’ll be collecting them next game. Give him his flowers because he’s playing well. Let the flowers be as loud as the hate.”
Seeing the relationship between these two up close, I became curious to learn more about the dynamic in college. That is when I learned that Hart hasn’t always played the role of protector for Bridges. In fact, it was the contrary. He used to try to punk him.
Bridges started his college career at Villanova as a redshirt. Hart was an upperclassman and hated practicing (he still does). To get the most out of Hart, Wildcat coaches would try to trigger Hart with words. His head coach, Jay Wright, would say things to Hart that “you can’t say in an interview” just to tick him off. It often worked. However, Bridges was often the person tasked with guarding Hart, who was always practicing angrily and out of spite.
The relationship started off more adversarial.
“He was a bully when I first got to campus,” Bridges said. “I had nothing wrong with him. He didn’t like me at the beginning. There might have been a little fear of a 6-foot-6 lanky kid who was looking pretty solid. I think he had a little fear factor.”
Everyone around the Villanova program acknowledged how much Hart intentionally tried to terrorize Bridges back then. Yet, as time progressed, coaches started to view it as the best thing to happen to Bridges. Many believe it helped make him the player we see today, the one who can rise above adversity the same way his midrange jumper rises above defenders.
“The Josh Hart you guys see now, he was that from Day 1,” Villanova assistant coach Ashley Howard told The Athletic. “He was fierce, tough, nasty and a competitor. Lo and behold, what ends up happening is that you get a Mikal Bridges who is a young freshman and was committed the whole year to improving his body, doing skill work and watching film. His game day was practice. His game day was against Josh Hart, this dude who we all knew was the toughest and nastiest on the floor. He made Mikal better.”
Some viewed it as tough love, even if Hart never made his intentions known.
“Any time Josh got his shot blocked and there was a change of possession, the next time Mikal got the ball, whether it was on the break or chasing him down or within the half court, it was like big brother versus little brother,” Villanova assistant coach Mike Nardi said. “Josh tried to send a message. We all believe that helped lead to Mikal becoming who he is. They were competing every single day.”
Bridges’ time with the Knicks has had several highs and lows on the court. Yet, he always shows up when it matters most. And every time, Hart is there to either have his back or to remind people of who Bridges is when things are going well.
The relationship has evolved from a sibling rivalry to Hart playing protector.
The comedians
Brunson tries his darndest to be responsible with all that his star power brings. Brunson is never too high, never too low when talking to the media. He gives you enough, but never too much. Brunson takes the sanctity of the locker room seriously. What happens in house, stays in house. He stays out of trouble and says he listens to Justin Bieber before every game. Brunson has drawn comparisons to famed Yankee Derek Jeter because of how he carries himself as a leader. It’s a persona that Brunson, the basketball player and captain, has mastered.
However, all of that is in jeopardy when Hart is around, and Brunson often finds himself unable to hold back the playful personality that people who know him best get to see daily. I’ve often been on the other end of their antics, both publicly and behind the scenes. In December, at the NBA Cup, I asked Hart if he viewed Brunson as the best “pound-for-pound scorer” in basketball, believing that the longtime friend would tell the truth if he didn’t think so. The bulk of the conversation turned into jokes about Brunson’s lack of athleticism, speed and height. And then Hart eventually got to the point.
“Inch for inch, I think he’s the best,” Hart said — before the two broke out laughing.
No better image personifies the ridiculousness of this friendship than what happened after the NBA Cup in December, where the Knicks took down the Spurs inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas to win their first “championship” in 50-plus years. At center court, as confetti was falling from the roof, the entire team was on a makeshift stage. Brunson was front and center, trying to find room on the bottom of the trophy to raise it himself. Behind him was Hart. As soon as Brunson reached for the hardware, Hart, with the entire NBA watching, stuck his thumb up Brunson’s … well … where the sun doesn’t shine.
“It was AI!” Hart jokingly tweeted after the clip went viral.
LMAO Josh Hart shoved his thumb up Jalen Brunson’s butt during the Knicks’ NBA Cup trophy celebration 😭😭😭
(via @BrickCenter_)
— Kicks (@kicks) December 17, 2025
Those two will have to live with that moment for the rest of their lives. It’ll be shown for as long as the NBA Cup is in existence. Friends do goofy things.
In the 2023 playoffs, Hart and Brunson took the podium together following a win. As a question was posed for either to answer, Hart took a bite of pizza. Brunson was clearly perturbed by the sound of his friend chewing while in front of a microphone. Instead of answering, Brunson asked a question himself.
“Are you going to finish chewing?” he said.
Brunson and Hart often feel inseparable. Their families hang out together. Their lockers on the road are right next to each other, no matter the arena.
There’s a level of vulnerability that these two share with one another that many teammates don’t have. Through the media, Brunson and Hart often take jabs at one another because the bond is that strong. They try to couch it with jokes, but there’s always a little truth in jokes.
The two started doing a podcast together, “The Roommates Show,” once they became teammates again in New York. During an April episode, Brunson revealed that Steve Nash was his favorite point guard. Hart snickered. Brunson asked why Hart thought that was funny.
“Why was he your favorite?” Hart asked. “You didn’t emulate him at all. … OK, so when did you stop passing?”
Brunson retorted: “When you were on my team.”
Hart: “So you’re saying you got to be a selfish player once you got to Villanova? That’s why we didn’t like you.”
Brunson: “That’s why we won.”
There’s a level of honesty that these two share with one another that can be delivered and hit because of who the messenger is. I’ve asked Hart many times to praise Brunson and he has to throw a dig first. The same goes for Brunson, who has denied questions I’ve asked him about Hart because he doesn’t want to say anything nice about him. In the end, they have one another’s best interests at heart. Brunson and Hart have been through it all together between the lines, dating to college.
On the court, Brunson is a stone-cold killer. He lives rent-free in the minds of opposing teams because, more often than not, his shooting the ball through the hoop is the last thing people experience before they go back to their locker room with another loss. Hart, too, is a wild man when the ball is tossed into the air. He wins every loose ball. He’s one of the best rebounding guards of all-time. He argues with referees and often has multiple medical wraps on ligaments because of how hard he plays.
Yet, away from the court, these two personify the best qualities of friendship and the silliness that comes with it. There is a genuine want to be around each other. Jokes. Honesty. It all fuels this decade-long brotherhood.
It’s hard to get that in professional sports.
More memories
Observing the Nova Knicks up close for two years, there is one main theme: Confidence.
They’re confident in their abilities, they’re confident in how they’re perceived and they’re confident in acknowledging their friendship. In this macho sport, Brunson, Hart and Bridges don’t try to hide their friendship and all of the quirks that come with it. They embrace it, as made evident when one of them is doing a postgame interview on the court and the other tries to sneak in a butt tap. Again, friends do goofy stuff, but millions of people aren’t usually watching.
Now, New York is on the doorstep of ending a drought too long for a city so passionate. And if that happens, it’ll be in large part because of these kids from Villanova who have grown into men. All while still keeping that innocence that got them this far.
Whatever happens next is anyone’s guess. (We asked our staff, and 10 of 26 voters picked New York to win in six, for whatever that’s worth.)
Without question, New York will hit adversity in the finals that it’s seen very little of this postseason, as it’s rattled off one of the most dominant runs in playoff history. The Spurs, with the towering Victor Wembanyama, will present challenges that’ll force tough conversations to be had and things to be done differently.
Those things are easier to overcome, though, when you have real-life experiences with your teammates. The Nova Knicks have been through it all on a basketball court. They know what makes each other tick as individuals. That’s an advantage that not many teams can say that they have.
“We genuinely like playing together,” Brunson said after the Knicks went up 3-0 against the Cavaliers. “We’ve created a chemistry that has been great. I love playing with these guys. They mean a lot to me. It’s been a lot of fun.”
Bridges has a handshake with every teammate on the roster. That camaraderie is something he brings to the team, which allows him to touch every corner of the locker room. It’s telling, but not particularly surprising, that before every game, Bridges makes sure the last two handshakes go to the two guys he’s known the longest, Hart and Brunson.
