Josh Hart is making a choice plenty of players would shy away from: keep the finger wrapped, keep playing, and put off the surgery that could bring his career to a stop.
The Knicks guard, 31, has been dealing with a right ring finger injury since he hurt it against the Celtics in the 2025 playoffs. He played through it then, kept going all season, and even saw it flare up again in the next playoffs. After the first day of Knicks training camp, a photo of Hart with tape around the finger while practicing started making the rounds.
Hart made it clear why the tape is sticking around. The only other option, he says, is a joint replacement that would end his playing days.
“Just so I don’t have to answer this question anymore. There is no other surgery for me to get besides a joint replacement.
If I get a joint replacement, I can’t play with it, and my career is over. So it will be wrapped until I retire, ✊🏽” Hart wrote on X.
That decision hasn’t slowed him down much. Even with the altered shooting motion he had to adopt, Hart posted a career-best 41.3% from three during the regular season in 2025-26. Across the regular season and playoffs, he averaged 11.6 points, 7.7 rebounds and 4.8 assists in 85 games while shooting 49.1% from the field and 39.0% from beyond the arc.
The reaction from Knicks fans was immediate and loud. Plenty of them jumped on social media to thank Hart for putting the team first, with messages that ranged from heartfelt to joking offers of help.
“Thanks so much for thinking about the team instead of just yourself! That’s really unselfish of you. 🧡💙”
“Bro, I got all my finger joints; if you need one, just holla at me. I got you.”
“Somehow it made him a better shooter.”
“41.3% from three last year. No doctors are messing with that.”
“Damn, that sucks, but it goes to show how much you want to win with the Knicks!”
Hart is also up for a contract extension, though his future with the team is not exactly settled. The extension, according to the source, is currently the second priority behind sorting out Karl-Anthony Towns’ contract situation. Still, Hart’s willingness to keep battling through the injury only adds to the sense that fans want this partnership to keep going.
For now, he’s not chasing a permanent fix. He’s managing the injury, keeping the finger wrapped, and staying on the floor.
The surgery can wait. Retirement can wait.
Hart is trying to get every last bit of basketball out of his career before either one becomes unavoidable.
In Other News...
Knicks Camp Battle Is Suddenly Tilting Toward Bruce Brown
The Knicks camp competition for the last two roster spots has already taken on a sharper edge, with five Exhibit 9 signings in the mix and a group that includes Ochai Agbaji, Bruce Brown, John Konchar, Drew Eubanks and James Wiseman. It is the kind of late-summer squeeze that leaves little room for sentimental choices, especially when front offices are trying to sort through fit, depth and the kind of experience that can matter once the season gets tight.
Brown has quickly emerged as the name to watch in that race, and not just because of his track record as a role player on a title team. The Knicks appear to value what he brings on and off the ball, which has given him a clearer path than some of the other camp hopefuls as the roster picture comes into focus. Even with those two openings available, the final decision could be shaped as much by cap realities as by the competition itself, which only adds more pressure to a battle that already feels like it is narrowing fast. [Read more 🡒]
Wembanyama Still Sounds Shaken By What The Knicks Did In June
Victor Wembanyama is still carrying the weight of San Antonios five-game loss to the Knicks in the 2026 NBA Finals, and the aftermath has not faded quietly. The Spurs star said the defeat hit him deeply, the kind of ending that lingers well beyond the final buzzer and forces a young team to sit with what happened in June.
As San Antonio tries to map out its next step for the 2026-27 season, the focus is on turning that pain into fuel for another run with its young core and the veteran help now in place. For Wembanyama, though, the edge of the disappointment is still there, a reminder that the Spurs cannot simply move on without first reckoning with how close they came. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks Finals Run Just Fueled A Debate Every Young Team Should Watch
Dylan Harper and Stephon Castle spent some time revisiting the Knicks Finals run from the other side, and the conversation quickly turned into something bigger than one series. The Spurs backcourt duo, two of the key young pieces in San Antonio, used that matchup as a way to talk about what separates a promising team from one ready to finish the job. Their takeaway was less about Xs and Os and more about the unglamorous stuff that tends to decide deep playoff runs: chemistry, trust and a roster that knows how to stay connected.
For Harper and Castle, the comparison point was the 2012 Oklahoma City Thunder, a talented group they see as a useful cautionary tale for any young team with big ambitions. They both shared personal memories from the Finals and reflected on their own performances, but the larger message was about how much room the Spurs still have to grow if they want to turn potential into something lasting. It was the kind of discussion Knicks fans can appreciate too, because it underscored just how thin the line can be between a team that looks dangerous and one that actually gets all the way there. [Read more 🡒]