Josh Hart knows exactly who he is - and that’s what makes him so valuable to the New York Knicks.
In a league where everyone wants to be the guy, Hart has fully leaned into being that guy - the one who does the dirty work, takes the toughest defensive assignments, crashes the boards like a power forward, and never needs the spotlight to make a major impact. He’s become a cornerstone of the Knicks’ gritty identity, a player who thrives in the margins and makes winning plays that don’t always show up in the box score.
But there was a time not long ago when Hart was asked to be much more than a glue guy.
Back in 2022, Hart was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers as part of the CJ McCollum deal with the New Orleans Pelicans. At the time, Portland was deep in a rebuild - or, more accurately, a tank - with Damian Lillard sidelined and the team’s playoff hopes already out of reach. That gave Hart an unexpected opportunity: the chance to be a featured scoring option.
And for a brief stretch, he delivered. In his first 13 games with the Blazers, Hart averaged 19.9 points per game - a career-high scoring run that showed he could fill it up when asked. But the team went just 4-9 in those games, and Hart came away from the experience with a clear-eyed understanding of his role in the league.
“Yeah, I was getting buckets,” Hart said recently on his Roommates Show podcast. “And that’s when I knew, I was like, you know what?
I’m a good basketball player and I can help a team win, but if I’m the number one or number two option on that team… not a great team. Not a great team.”
That kind of self-awareness is rare - and it’s part of what makes Hart so effective in his current role with the Knicks.
Now in his second season with New York, Hart is firmly entrenched as the fifth scoring option in the starting lineup - and that’s not a knock. It’s a reflection of how deep and balanced this Knicks team has become.
Hart’s value isn’t in isolation scoring or shot creation in the halfcourt. It’s in his relentless energy, his ability to defend across multiple positions, and his knack for making hustle plays that swing momentum.
He’s also a force in transition, where his athleticism and ambidexterity allow him to finish plays most wings wouldn’t even attempt. And while he’s not a go-to scorer, he’s more than capable of knocking down open looks when defenses collapse on Jalen Brunson or Julius Randle.
Since arriving in New York in 2023, Hart has done exactly what’s been asked of him - and then some. He’s embraced the grind, elevated the team’s toughness, and become the kind of player every contender needs: reliable, versatile, and unselfish.
Matt: “The season when you got traded from New Orleans to Portland, those 13 games that you played on Portland for, you averaged 20 a game.”
— Roommates Show (@Roommates__Show) February 11, 2026
Josh: “Yeah I was getting buckets. And that’s when I knew, I was like, you know what? I’m a good basketball player and I can help a team… pic.twitter.com/h2fPhJ2EZg
Josh Hart may not be putting up 20 a night anymore, but he’s never been more impactful. And on a Knicks team with real postseason aspirations, that kind of contribution might be even more valuable than points on the scoreboard.