Josh Hart by no means envisioned his basketball profession going like this.
Possibly he’d develop into an NBA participant. That was the best-case situation.
Second-best case?
A podcaster, like his “Roommates Show with Jalen Brunson,” however full-time, and as a fan, not an athlete.
“Obviously that was the goal — to be an NBA player — but for me, realistically, it was something in communications, being around basketball, talking trash hopefully on a talk show or radio or something like that,” Hart mentioned on Tuesday, simply moments after making NBA historical past. “I didn’t envision this. This is more than I ever dreamed or hoped for. Never envisioned it but the Lord opens doors that you don’t know are possible.”
On Tuesday evening, Hart’s profession exceeded his wildest goals. He has formally taken his rightful place in Knicks basketball lore.
Hart completed with 16 factors, 12 rebounds and 11 assists in Tuesday’s win over the Dallas Mavericks. The efficiency marked his ninth triple-double of the season, surpassing the longtime mark of eight held by franchise legend and MSG Networks shade commentator Walt Clyde Frazier, whose document stood for 55 years.
“They had video right? When he was playing? They had video?” Hart requested at his locker after his record-breaking efficiency. “Nah, I haven’t [watched Frazier film]. That’d be something to do, maybe I’ll do it at some point.
“But nah, I didn’t know they had video when he was playing. I thought it was all just written down.”
Hart’s stats, too, at the moment are written down within the Knicks historical past books.
The truth that he broke a Corridor of Famer’s document as a task participant who was as soon as not sure of his trajectory as an NBA participant speaks volumes on the affect Hart is having this season with the Knicks.
“Well, I think any time you can get a record it is pretty special because of the greatness of this league. And then, to do what he’s doing, it’s a testament to what he’s put into it. Also, his teammates and feeding off each other,” head coach Tom Thibodeau defined after the sport. “It’s hard to describe what he is to the team, because he’s at times a facilitator, he’s a rebounder, he’s a pace guy, he’s a hustle guy. And then at the end you just look at how he’s done a number of things that help you win.
“Like tonight, I thought the effort plays unites and inspires the team. When you get those type of plays, it becomes contagious and you get everyone flying around.”
Hart was not the one participant to document a triple-double on Tuesday evening.
Knicks All-Star Karl-Anthony Cities additionally posted his third profession triple-double with 26 factors, 12 rebounds and 11 assists towards the Mavericks.
Cities and Hart grew to become the primary Knicks gamers ever to document a triple-double in the identical recreation.
“He got 9. I got one,” Cities mentioned at his locker after the sport. “So he’s doing a much better job than me at getting triple doubles. But the way he does it is special. It’s all energy and effort, and it’s for the betterment of the team.”
“It means KAT went out there and passed the damn ball and got guys involved like we know he can do,” Hart added. “It’s cool. I think I was in LA four, five years ago when [Le]Bron and Lonzo [Ball] did it, and watching that I thought that was something really dope. Now full circle I’m in that same situation with KAT. It’s really dope, it’s a a blessing. Hopefully we can carry that on and do more.”
Hart now has 15 profession triple-doubles. All have come since his arrival in a 2023 midseason commerce from the New Orleans Pelicans to the Knicks.
“I’m just happy Josh gets stats on the sheet that show the impact he’s making on the game because I feel like there’s much more stats that don’t show up on the stat sheet that he does for our team,” Cities continued. “So I’m happy he’s having this moment where the effort, the sacrifice and the work he puts in for our team to be the best version of ourselves, it’s showing up on the stat sheet so he can get his respect, his accolades and all the cheers going on for him because he deserves it.”
Three-time MVP Nikola Jokic and former MVP Russell Westbrook have triple doubled as teammates twice for the Denver Nuggets this season. Jokic and Jamal Murray additionally recorded simultaneous triple doubles in Sport 3 of the 2023 NBA Finals towards the Miami Warmth. And LeBron James additionally achieved the feat with Westbrook on the Los Angeles Lakers in December of 2021 towards the Houston Rockets.
Earlier than them? Dennis Smith Jr. and Mason Plumlee had been the obscure pair of teammates who final recorded a triple-double in the identical recreation.
The pair of Knicks stars on Tuesday evening marked the twentieth event in NBA historical past teammates have posted a triple double.
“It’s not an easy thing to do. It’s an all-around game. The game really dictates what you should do,” Thibodeau mentioned of the feat. “Because of the personnel [the Mavericks] had, they were doing a lot of switching one through five. If you stand and hold that can be problematic.”
With 11 assists apiece from Cities and Hart, plus one other 9 off the bench from rookie Tyler Kolek, the Knicks recorded 40 assists as a group, 5 wanting their season-high 45 on Nov. 25 towards the Nuggets.
“I thought we moved very well without the ball, so to get 40 assists, and I thought some of the turnovers we were able to force got us in the open floor,” Thibodeau continued. “We had 27 fastbreak points. So those things are big. And then, we know we have to play better on both sides of the ball.”
Hart mentioned he gave the sport ball to rookie Kevin McCullar, who missed a big chunk of his freshman season recovering from surgical procedure to restore a bone bruise on his left knee. McCullar made his Knicks debut and made his first shot with lower than three minutes left within the fourth quarter towards the Mavericks.
“For me that’s an easy decision. That record is cool and a blessing, but at the end of the day, that record’s going to get broken at some point. Hopefully, later rather than sooner.” mentioned Hart. “But that’s going to get broken. Getting your first NBA points, nobody can take that away from you. It’s important that he had that, got the game ball for that. That’s an easy decision for me.”
That selfless act isn’t the one embodiment of Hart’s which means to this Knicks group. He broke Knicks historical past by beating all 5 Mavericks gamers to a free ball off the offensive glass for rebound No. 10.
“Is that how I got it?” he requested. “Okay, cool, good. Yeah, man, I guess that epitomizes my game, getting it in a hustle way.”
Not unhealthy for somebody who thought he’d solely quantity to podcasting — even when he nonetheless has a podcast.
Initially Revealed: March 26, 2025 at 9:05 AM EDT
