Josh Hart’s Brunson Joke Shows Why These Knicks Are Built to Defend Their Title
Jalen Brunson is an NBA champion, Finals MVP, New York’s biggest basketball star and, apparently, still just another guy to Josh Hart.
That might sound ridiculous after everything Brunson accomplished last season, but Hart’s refusal to treat his best friend like some untouchable celebrity is exactly the kind of attitude that can make the New York Knicks dangerous again.
The Knicks spent the summer celebrating the biggest achievement in franchise history in more than five decades. They ended a 53-year championship drought by beating the San Antonio Spurs 4-1 in the 2026 NBA Finals, with Brunson scoring 45 points in the title-clinching Game 5. Yet as training camp began, Hart was still doing what Hart does best: keeping Brunson grounded.
Hart Refuses To Give Brunson The Hollywood Treatment
Brunson had quite a summer.
After becoming an NBA champion and Finals MVP, he appeared at major events, featured alongside his Knicks teammates and then became the first Knick ever to host Saturday Night Live. It was another indication that Brunson had moved beyond basketball fame and into a much bigger spotlight.
Hart, naturally, was not impressed.
Asked about Brunson’s SNL performance during Knicks media day, Hart delivered one of those perfectly dry answers that only a close friend could get away with.
“I think his performance was fine. I don’t think he has a future in acting,” Hart said, drawing laughter from the room.
That is Josh Hart in a nutshell.
While everyone else is celebrating Brunson as a champion and Finals MVP, Hart is basically telling him to relax.
And honestly, that is probably exactly what Brunson needs.
The Friendship Behind The Joke
The relationship between Brunson and Hart is not some recently manufactured NBA friendship.
The two played together at Villanova, where they helped win the 2016 NCAA championship. Mikal Bridges was also part of that championship team, and the trio eventually reunited in New York. In 2026, they became the first trio of teammates to win both an NCAA championship and an NBA championship together.
That history matters.
Hart knows Brunson long before the Finals MVP trophies, the SNL stage and the enormous attention that now follows him around New York.
He knows the person behind the superstar.
That gives Hart permission to say things that most teammates probably could not.
And rather than creating tension, those jokes underline how comfortable the Knicks’ core appears to be with one another.
The Knicks Won Because They Stayed Together
There is a bigger basketball point here.
New York did not win its first championship since 1973 because Brunson suddenly became a one-man wrecking ball. He was unquestionably the central figure, but the Knicks’ success came from a roster that consistently embraced sacrifice, toughness and collective responsibility.
Brunson averaged 32.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.6 assists during the five-game Finals against San Antonio. Hart averaged 7.6 points and 9.8 rebounds while contributing 4.6 assists, and his rebounding from the guard position was another example of the less glamorous work that helped New York win.
Those numbers tell an important story.
Brunson was the superstar who delivered the huge scoring performances, including 45 points in Game 5. Hart was the player willing to do the dirty work, chase rebounds, defend, hustle and provide energy.
You need both types of players to win at the highest level.
And you especially need players like Hart when the attention becomes overwhelming.
Now Everyone Is Watching The Knicks
The interesting challenge is that the Knicks are no longer the underdogs they were before the championship.
Last season, there were plenty of reasons to doubt them. Then they kept winning.
They beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference finals, sweeping the series 4-0, before defeating San Antonio in the Finals. Brunson averaged 25.5 points and 7.8 assists in the conference finals before elevating his game again against the Spurs.
Now the conversation has changed.
Instead of asking whether the Knicks can win a championship, people are asking whether they can win another one.
That is a completely different kind of pressure.
The defending champions cannot sneak up on anybody.
Opponents know what they are capable of. Every game becomes a measuring stick. Every weakness gets studied. Every bad stretch gets amplified.
That is why Hart’s attitude is so important.
He is not allowing the team to become comfortable simply because they finally reached the top.
Brunson Himself Is Already Thinking About The Next Challenge
Brunson has also acknowledged the need to move forward.
The Knicks’ captain entered training camp after undergoing offseason wrist surgery, having played through the issue during the championship run. He has since been cleared to play and is expected to participate fully in training camp.
That makes the timing of Hart’s jokes even better.
There is no need for the Knicks to spend the season constantly reminding themselves that they are champions.
They already know.
The real challenge is proving that the championship was not the peak of this group.
The roster returns largely intact, although Mitchell Robinson departed for Boston and Andre Drummond was brought in as a replacement at center. That continuity gives New York an opportunity to build on what worked rather than starting over.
The chemistry, however, will be just as important as the personnel.
And that chemistry is difficult to manufacture.
Why Hart Could Be So Important
It is easy to focus on Brunson, Towns, Bridges or Anunoby when discussing the Knicks’ championship chances.
Hart is different.
He brings the personality that keeps the group loose while also providing the kind of physical, all-around contribution that does not always show up in highlight reels.
During the Finals, he averaged 9.8 rebounds per game despite standing 6-foot-4. That is the sort of contribution that can swing playoff games without generating the same headlines as a 40-point performance.
And then there is the friendship.
Hart can celebrate Brunson while also making fun of him. He can support his teammate publicly and still remind him that nobody gets treated like royalty inside that locker room.
That balance could become valuable when expectations rise.
The Knicks Need That Edge Again
The most interesting part of this entire story is that Hart’s joke is about much more than SNL.
It is about maintaining the personality that helped New York reach the top.
Brunson can be famous. He can be an NBA champion. He can be a Finals MVP. He can host one of television’s most famous shows.
But inside the Knicks’ locker room, Josh Hart is still going to roast him.
And that is probably a good thing.
The Knicks have spent decades searching for another championship. Now they have one. The next challenge is avoiding the trap that often follows success: believing the job is finished.
Hart’s message, even through a joke, is essentially that the celebration is over.
The championship banner is coming, but the season is starting again.
Brunson may have become the face of New York basketball, but Hart is making sure he never forgets that he is still part of a team.
And if the Knicks can carry that mentality into the 2026-27 season, this group has every reason to believe another deep playoff run is possible.
The real question is whether they can keep the same hunger now that everyone else is chasing them.
What do you think — does Josh Hart’s attitude show exactly why the Knicks can defend their championship?