The New York Knicks have become an extremely close team with the presence of the Villanova trio in the starting lineup.
The relationship began during the days at Villanova but it apparently did not start out positively for Josh Hart.
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During a media availability ahead of the 2026 NBA Finals last week, Hart joked about his first impressions of Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges when they entered Villanova.
“I hated Jalen,” Hart said. “I thought he was one of those annoying five-stars that come in entitled. Unfortunately, he was the opposite and we sparked a friendship and we’re still friends to these days. That’s what my thought process was. I hated him to start, hated him during his visit. Probably beginning of his freshman year, hated him.”
Brunson entered Villanova as one of the top recruits in the nation. He was ranked as the top player in Illinois and No. 6 point guard in the nation. Bridges was also a highly-rated recruit.
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“Kal, he was the same way. I hated him too,” Hart said. “He came in and we played similar positions in college and he was just weaker, more frail than I was, so he would grab me and I hated it. So, obviously love those guys now.“
“I lived with Jalen his sophomore year. We just happen to become close with that situation. He was still extremely annoying but I began to tolerate the annoyingness becasue I had to be with it every single day. Kal, I think I tormented him a little bit as an older guy.”
The trio would go on to win the 2016 National Championship. Obviously, Brunson and Hart added one more in 2018 the year after Hart left for the NBA. Now, the group is leading the Knicks as they lead 2-1 in the NBA Finals.
