SAN ANTONIO — Josh Hart missed the last celebration.
Jalen Brunson makes a point of needling his friend at every opportunity, reminding the world that Hart was no longer on 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 together 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 trio of 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’ll never be broken. We won a championship together in college, but this one obviously takes the cake.
“We’ve been built for this moment. We’ve all been forged in the fire … Coach [Jay] Wright helped us be cut from a different cloth. No matter the moment, it’s never too big for us.”
While Jalen Brunson earned NBA Finals MVP with an iconic 45-point performance, Hart (13 points, 11 rebounds) and Bridges (14 points, four assists) supported the superstar as the second and third-leading scorers.
As recently as four years ago, these New York legends played elsewhere.
Brunson arrived in the summer of 2022, an undersized and supposedly overpaid free agent signing. Hart was on his third team in six seasons, having never reached the postseason when he was traded to the Knicks on Feb. 8, 2023, leaving Brunson in disbelief, reacting like he won the lottery — “Oh s–t! Yes!” — raising his arms in triumph.
Brunson knew the Knicks — then without a playoff series win in a decade — were getting someone whose selflessness would’ve fit with the franchise in 1973, whose passion and toughness would’ve blended seamlessly in 1993.
Someone who found where he always belonged.
“I had so much instability, traded, different coaches, and I found a home in New York and they embraced me,” Hart said. “This city is built on toughness, grit, blue-collar people, and I feel like I’m the same person. They can look in the mirror and they can see [me].”
Bridges, who was part of a Phoenix team that blew a 2-0 NBA Finals lead in 2021, formed a new Villanova trio in New York in 2024, joining the Knicks, as Donte DiVincenzo was traded to Minnesota.
In being acquired from Brooklyn for five first-round picks, Bridges has often been maligned for the type of superstar the Knicks missed out on by giving five first-round picks to Brooklyn for an inconsistent, soft-spoken wing who often disappeared on the court.
But after being benched in a scoreless effort in Game 3 of the first-round series, Bridges showcased a new level of aggressiveness and efficiency, becoming one of the team’s best two-players during their postseason run.
Worth every pick. Worth every penny.
“You talking about f–-k them picks?” Bridges said in between sips of champagne. “Very grateful. F–-k ’em. Through the times I’ve been struggling, fans said things about me, I want to always be better.
“Keep pushing me. I appreciate the tough love.”