Ню-Йорк Никс 53 жилийн дараа аварга цолоо хүртэхэд Жош Хартын гүйцэтгэсэн үүрэг онцгой байлаа.
NBA-гийн финалын цувралын дөрөв дэх тоглолтын төгсгөлд Жош Харт бөмбөг алдаж, багийнхаа ялалтыг эрсдэлд оруулсан ч Оу-Жи Анунобигийн шийдвэрлэх оноо түүнийг аварчээ. Харт тоглолтын дараа өөрийн алдаандаа сэтгэл дундуур байсан ч багийнхаа төлөө бүхнээ зориулж, хамгаалалт, самбараас бөмбөг авалт болон шийдвэрлэх үеийн гурван онооны шидэлтээрээ ялалтад хувь нэмрээ оруулсан юм. Тэрээр өөрийн үүргээ ухамсарлаж, багийнхаа амжилтын төлөө хувийн тоглолтоо золиослох нь ялагчдын зан чанар гэдгийг онцолсон байна.
Ню-Йорк Никсийн бүрэлдэхүүнд Жош Харт нь Дрэймонд Грин эсвэл Жру Холидэй нарын адил багийн тогтолцоонд чухал нөлөө үзүүлдэг тоглогч болжээ. Тэрээр самбараас бөмбөг авалт, бөмбөг таслалт болон хамгаалалтын чадвараараа багийнхаа амжилтыг баталгаажуулж, финалын цувралд 4-for-8 гурван онооны шидэлт гүйцэтгэсэн нь багийг аварга болгоход шийдвэрлэх хүчин зүйл болсон юм. Ню-Йорк хотын хөгжөөн дэмжигчид түүнийг багийнхаа төлөөх шаргуу хөдөлмөр, дайчин зан чанараар нь хүндэтгэдэг.
Ню-Йорк Никст ирснээр өөрийн гэсэн орон зайгаа олсон Жош Харт өнөөдөр NBA-гийн аварга болж, багийнхаа түүхэнд нэрээ мөнхөллөө. Тэрээр өөрийгөө төгс тоглогч биш гэдгийг хүлээн зөвшөөрдөг ч багийнхаа төлөөх золиослол, хичээл зүтгэл нь энэхүү амжилтад хүргэснийг онцлон тэмдэглэв. Одоо тэрээр Мэдисон Сквер Гардены түүхэн тоглогчдын нэг болж, хотынхоо хөгжөөн дэмжигчдийн хайр хүндэтгэлийг хүлээж байна.
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NEW YORK — After the greatest shot in his franchise’s history, putting the New York Knicks one win away from ending 53 years of misery, Josh Hart sat at his locker alone. Frozen.
Physically, Hart was unwinding in his happy place. Mentally, though, his mind couldn’t leave the “what if?”
“Thank God for OG,” he told me when my approach broke his trance.
Hart was referring to 1:59 left in the fourth quarter of Game 4 of the NBA Finals. His team trailed by one when he stole an errant pass and had a runway that, essentially, could have sealed a victory. Hart rose to dunk, but his leg gave out on him, forcing him to drop the ball on the back rim and watch it bounce back into the hands of the San Antonio Spurs.
This sequence is the beauty of both Josh Hart, the player and Josh Hart, the person. It was his steal, anticipation and will that put New York deeper into the driver’s seat on the way to history. Hart is always at the right place at the right time. Some might call that luck, but is it luck when it happens over and over again?
Yet, it was the miss that stuck with Hart. Even though the Knicks found a way to win despite Hart’s miscue, that blunder — and all that might have come with it had OG Anunoby’s tip-in a few plays later, winning the game for New York — was what he obsessed over.
The man whose ability to make games look imperfect is always looking for perfection.
“I got a special shout-out for OG, because he saved me a lifetime of regret,” Hart said after.
The imperfection of Hart, the player, is what makes him great. His obsession with perfection, though, is what makes him a champion. Hart is a creator of chaos and, therefore, someone who manifests winning plays out of hustle and determination. Back-breaking rebounds. On-time, on-target passes. Suffocating defense. Yet, the Knicks needed Hart to make open jump shots if they were going to eventually become NBA champions. And for all Hart brings to the game, it was that realization that he would hyper-focus on.
“You’ve never seen me happier to play just 18 minutes,” Hart said after the Knicks won Game 2 of the NBA Finals, a performance in which he went 0-for-4 from the field and 0-for-2 from 3.
So what did Hart do, as the San Antonio defense continued to leave him open, daring him to shoot? He casually knocked down eight of his last 15 3-point attempts. That’s who Hart is. A winner. Someone who just figures things out, even when people are antsy to pull the plug on the Hart experience.
“We don’t really talk about it, but the weight of that jersey,” Hart, minutes after becoming an NBA champion, said. “The expectations, the pressure of that jersey. Right now, it’s the lightest it’s ever felt.”
The Knicks, after one of the most dominant postseason runs in NBA history, will be remembered as one of the greatest teams this decade. Hart, the player who creates something out of nothing, who always rises to the occasion, is a big reason why.
Whether it was a big defensive stop, a much-needed rebound or a basket to help turn things around for the Knicks, Josh Hart seemed to deliver during the team’s NBA championship run. (Sarah Stier / Getty Images)
Every great team in NBA history has a version of Josh Hart — a low-maintenance offensive weapon who makes the most of opportunities, defends, wins 50-50 balls, carries a high IQ and, most importantly, provides a no-frills spirit to a collection of talent. Hart is what Draymond Green was to the Golden State Warriors during their dynasty run. He knows his role is to defend and create good shots for others. The scoring is just a cherry on top.
He’s what Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was to both the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets as they won titles. Like Caldwell-Pope, Hart can contribute in other ways when shots aren’t falling.
Hart is what Jrue Holiday was to the Boston Celtics’ 2024 championship. Yeah, he can probably bring more to the table, but being surrounded by a deep cast of talent forces a look within.
“Everybody wants to be the guy that scores the most, that puts the ball in the basket, and that’s not everybody’s path,” Hart said. “That wasn’t my path, and sometimes that’s a tough pill to swallow, but when you embrace that, when you’re a star in your role. You take pride in doing the little things, that breeds winning basketball.
“For me, as embraced as I was in this city, wearing this jersey, that sacrifice was easy. Some days, it was tough. Don’t get me wrong, but you sacrifice for moments like this.”
In each series along the way, you can pinpoint how Hart’s impact propelled New York to greater heights. There’s a world where the Knicks don’t overcome a 2-1 deficit in the first round against the Atlanta Hawks if Hart doesn’t turn Jalen Johnson’s water off and then transition to slowing down CJ McCollum, who New York had no answer for through the first three games.
The Knicks might not get past Philadelphia with ease if Hart, who is 6-foot-4, doesn’t grab nearly nine rebounds per game. New York’s defense might not have slowed the Cavs’ usual high-powered offense if Hart’s 2.3 steals per game didn’t act as a disruptor.
In the NBA Finals, the Knicks won their last two games by a combined five points. Hart, whose streaky 3-point shooting is the cause of many fans’ anxiety, finished 4-for-8 from distance to bring the title back to Manhattan.
Hart does it all, even if people want more of one thing in particular.
At every home game, the Knicks honor players of their past. “Once a Knick, always a Knick.” The Jumbotron shows different faces from different eras, some much better than others.
Fifteen years from now, when Hart is on the screen high above the court inside Madison Square Garden, maybe more grey in the hair, his body slightly deformed from all of the pain accumulated because he left it all out there during his heyday, there might not be a bigger ovation outside of Jalen Brunson. Hart embodies what New York is about — tough and brash. He brings the playful personality that can be found on every block in every borough.
Hart is a champion, which only a small few who are shown on that Jumbotron can say.
A strong case can be made that a player not from New York has embodied New York more.
“I found a home in New York,” said Hart, who played for three teams in his first five seasons before landing with the Knicks. “They embrace me for who I am, and I’m not perfect.”
