Josh Hart’s season began with him questioning his offensive role on the Knicks, even after signing a four-year extension following an impactful midseason trade from Portland in February 2023.
But Hart’s integral role as a do-it-all wing was absolutely unquestioned as the first round of the playoffs began Saturday against the 76ers at the Garden.
The great-nephew of four-time World Series champion and Yankees legend Elston Howard, Hart had his hair braided into an interlocking NY for the postseason.
Hart became an invaluable workhorse for Tom Thibodeau and the Knicks over the final two-plus months of the regular season, with the starting frontcourt of Julius Randle (season-ending shoulder surgery), OG Anunoby (elbow surgery) and Mitchell Robinson (ankle surgery) all missing significant time.
The 29-year-old Hart started the final 36 games after Randle and Anunoby first departed the lineup in late January.
He averaged 40 minutes per game over the stretch, more than NBA leader DeMar DeRozan (37.8 per game) logged over 79 appearances for the season.
“For me personally, I don’t really think the confidence has changed too much. At the end of the day, I go out there and I play my game,” Hart said Friday. “In practice, we were talking about when the ball gets in the middle, guys look at the rim, Jalen [Brunson], OG, me, you just do whatever it is that you do. That’s how I approach the game. I just do what I do.”
Hart, who signed a four-year contract extension worth $81 million over the summer, had said in November that he didn’t “feel included” in the team’s offensive sets as a way of explaining his early struggles from 3-point range.
He had connected on a whopping 51.9 percent from long distance in 25 appearances after his arrival last season, and the Knicks went 18-7 in those games.
Hart never fully rediscovered his outside shot, finishing the year with a career-worst 31.0 shooting percentage from beyond the arc.
But the 6-foot-4 wing emerged as a versatile dynamo filling various categories on the scoresheet over his final 36 appearances, posting 12.0 points, 10.6 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game.
Hart even recorded six triple-doubles after never previously having one during his first six-plus NBA campaigns.
“Some days it’s scoring, some days it’s rebounding, some days it’s playmaking,” Hart said. “I don’t think it gave myself any more confidence, I think it might have given guys on the team, the coaches, more confidence in me playing a different role if I have to.
“For me, I just go out there, like, playing basketball. And I just have fun with it.”
