Emotional Josh Hart Thanks Knicks Fans

Josh Hart received a warm ovation from New York Knicks fans upon an emotional season's end.

uMay 19, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks guard Josh Hart (3) walks off the floor / Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

In the face of a season-ending loss, New York Knicks fans made sure to show love to Josh Hart, one of rare mainstays of a transaction-packed 2023-24 season.

Hart was one of the major energizers behind the Knicks' season, which came to an end on Sunday afternoon with a 130-109 defeat at the hands of the Indiana Pacers at Madison Square Garden. Thus ended a 50-win season that ended in the second slot on the Eastern Conference playoff bracket, both good for the Knicks' best posting in over a decade.

As reality set in for the thousands gathered at MSG, head coach Tom Thibodeau removed whatever primary men he had left from the carnage. Hart was removed with three minutes remaining and the sellout crowd, rendered mostly mute by the Pacers pulling away, offered a vocal ovation as he made his way to the bench.

That at least made Sunday at least somewhat of a win for Hart, previously an NBA nomad before the Knicks made a five-year commitment to him last summer.

May 19, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks guard Josh Hart (3) brings the ball up court / Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

"It's huge. I came here last year, I think it was like my fourth team, my sixth coach, fourth franchise. I wanted a home," Hart said in video from SNY. "Obviously, the front office believed in me, gave me a contract, Thibs played me, and the city embraced me. For me, that means a lot."

Hart's arrival from Portland at last year's trade deadline has become a bit of a turning point in Knicks history: New York has won 80 games between the regular season and postseason since the deal on Feb. 8, 2023, the third-best total in the Association in that span (behind only Boston and Denver).

Hart was convinced to play this season on an affordable player option that came with him from the Pacific Northwest. A four-year, $80.9 million extension kicks in next season, a new payday well-earned and then some over the past season.

The Villanova alum entered the starting lineup when three-time All-Star Julius Randle went down with a shoulder injury that proved to be season-ending. The Knicks were 21-15 over the final 36 games, which began with a Hart introduction. Hart would post six triple-doubles in that span and wound playing four complete games in the postseason (matching the combined total from New York Mets and Yankees pitchers over the past year-plus).

Alas, Hart was not immune from the injury epidemic that ate away at the Knicks rotation, as he left Friday's game in Indianapolis with an abdominal strain. Hart was able to take the floor for Sunday's eventual finale, but it's clear he wasn't at 100 percent, ending Sunday's game with 10 points and eight rebounds over 37 presumably painful minutes.

May 19, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau greets guard Josh / Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Hart certainly left his mark on this Knicks season: amidst the myriad of medical maladies, he missed just one regular season game and set a career-best in rebounding at 8.3 a game. The former Wildcat currently sits fourth among playoff participants in rebounds and notably sank the go-ahead three-pointer that proved to be the game-winner of the Knicks' clinching first-round victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.

If Knicks fans can take any consolation from Sunday's loss, it's that Hart more or less vowed that the 2023-24 season's effort was simply the beginning of something bigger for both himself and the team.

"The only way I can repay (the fans) is to continue to put my body on the line and give everything I have and leave my heart on that court," Hart said. " I've got to thank the fans for embracing me. I'm not perfect. There's a lot of ups and downs with Josh Hart. They've embraced me."

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