SAN ANTONIO — Jalen Brunson had no jokes, no sarcastic remarks, no not-so-subtle digs about his longtime teammate.
Josh Hart had been too important — becoming the first player in an NBA Finals game to lead both teams outright in rebounds (15), assists (6) and steals (4) — prompting the Knicks captain to produce a rare moment of sincere praise for his friend.
One day later, Brunson couldn’t help but inject a playful jab into another compliment for his podcast co-host.
“His energy is just relentless, it doesn’t stop, I mean, he eats candy all the time. That tells you who he is,” Brunson said Thursday. “He’s a big kid with an absurd amount of energy.”
Though Brunson owned the spotlight while scoring 13 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter of the Game 1 win, Hart repeatedly demoralized the inexperienced Spurs without taking a shot, finishing with six rebounds — all but one with 7-foot-4 Victor Wembanyama on the floor — and three steals in the final seven minutes.
Hart, who finished with a team-best plus-22 rating and no turnovers, became the first player since Larry Bird (1986) to record 15 rebounds, six assists and four steals in the Finals.
He became the first Knick to record at least 15 rebounds and five assists in the Finals since Dave DeBusschere (1972).
Hart, who scored three points (1-for-5 from the field, 0-for-3 on 3-pointers), also recorded the fewest points in the Finals of any player with at least 15 rebounds and six assists since Bill Russell (1959).
“When you look at what he shot from the field, you wouldn’t think that he was probably the most impactful guy on the game,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “He was huge. He helped us with our pace. … He guarded a lot of different guys. … He rebounded the basketball. He was great on the weak side defensively. He impacted the game in so many different ways for us.”
A decade ago, Hart was the leading scorer on Villanova’s national championship team. The next season, he again led the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, earning Big East Player of the Year honors over Brunson.
Now, Brunson is on pace to become an all-time legend in New York. And Hart is thrilled to be the sidekick that every hero needs.
“It takes humility and just a willingness to sacrifice,” Hart said. “We’re in the NBA Finals. There’s millions of people watching. It’s easy to get wrapped up in human nature of wanting to get recognition, wanting to score the ball, wanting to show people what you can do on the biggest stage.
“That’s not everyone’s calling and not everyone’s assignment. I know for me, that’s not really my assignment. … When you have a group of guys that have that willingness to sacrifice and that humility, that breeds a championship culture.”
