For the third consecutive season, the New York Knicks have emerged as one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference.

The Knicks’ renaissance has coincided with the arrival of Jalen Brunson, who signed a four-year $104 million deal to join the team back in the 2022 offseason. Halfway into Brunson’s first campaign with the team, New York’s front office engaged in a trade with the Portland Trail Blazers that reunited him with his college teammate Josh Hart.

Since then, Brunson has become the face of the Knicks while Hart has embraced his role as the team’s ‘Hart’–pun intended–and soul. The 29-year-old’s hard-nosed style and relentless motor has endeared him to the New York faithful as well as their head coach Tom Thibodeau who is renowned for his love for gritty and passionate players such as Hart. 

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Though Hart might not ever become an NBA All-Star, it can be argued that he impacts this team’s success just as much as anyone else. The effort that he puts in on the court–diving for loose balls, pushing the ball up the floor, and sprinting back on defense to name a few–typically do not show up on the box score, but this season it has begun manifesting on the stat sheet. 

The do-it-all forward is in the midst of his best overall statistical season in his eight years in the NBA. Through the Knicks’ first 40 games, he is averaging 14.3 points on a career-best 56.8% field goal shooting. He is also putting up his best per game numbers as an NBA player in rebounds (9.4), assists (5.5), steals (1.4), and minutes (37.5). Furthermore, he is currently leading all players in total rebounds and offensive rebounds since Christmas despite standing at just 6’4.

In New York’s most recent win–a 125-119 overtime thriller versus the Philadelphia 76ers–Hart put up a triple double with 10 points, 17 rebounds, and 12 assists along with four steals. As usual, he was all over the place and wound up leading the team in +/- at +10.

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