SAN ANTONIO — Josh Hart missed the final celebration.
Jalen Brunson made a point of needing his friend at every opportunity, reminding the world that Hart was gone from Villanova when Brunson and Mikal Bridges left San Antonio with their second national championship in three years.
But eight years later, the college teammates became legends again, leading the Knicks to their first championship in 53 years with a 94-90 win over the Spurs in Game 5 of the NBA Finals at Frost Bank Center. They are the first three teammates to win an NCAA title (2016) and an NBA title together.
“Those are my brothers for life,” Hart said. “We have a bond that will never be broken. We won a tournament together in college, but this is obviously the one that takes the cake.”
“We are built for now. We are all made in the fire… Coach [Jay] Wright helped us cut another cloth. Whatever time it is, it’s never too big for us.”
While Jalen Brunson won the NBA Finals MVP with a performance of 45 points, Hart (13 points, 11 rebounds) and Bridges (14 points, four assists) supported the champion as the second and third best player.
As recently as four years ago, these New York legends performed elsewhere.
Brunson arrived in the summer of 2022, signing a junior free agent and reportedly overpaid. Hart was on his third team in six seasons, never reaching the postseason when he was traded to the Knicks in Feb. 8, 2023, leaving Brunson in disbelief, feeling like he’d won the lottery — “Oh s–t! Yes!” – raising his arms in triumph.
Brunson knew that the Knicks – then without a playoff series win in a decade – were getting someone whose dedication would match the franchise in 1973, whose enthusiasm and tenacity would mesh seamlessly in 1993.
Someone who found where he lives.
“I had a lot of instability, trades, different coaches, and I found a home in New York and they accepted me,” Hart said. “This city is built on solidity, chaos, green people, I feel like I’m the same person, they can look in the mirror and see. [me].”
Bridges, who was part of the Phoenix team that went 2-0 in the NBA Finals in 2021, formed a new Villanova team in New York in 2024, and joined the Knicks, as Donte DiVincenzo was traded to Minnesota.
After being acquired from Brooklyn with five first-round picks, Bridges has often been maligned as the kind of star the Knicks missed out on, instead getting an inconsistent, soft-spoken wing who often disappears on the court.
But after being benched in a scoreless effort in Game 3 of the first-round series, Bridges showed a new level of aggressiveness and efficiency, becoming one of the team’s two best players during their postseason run.
It’s worth every choice. Worth every penny.
“Are you talking about the f–-k they choose?” It means bridges between drinking champagne. “Thank you so much F–-k ’em. Every time I struggle, fans say things about me, I want to always be better.
“Keep pushing me. I appreciate tough love.”
