NBA FINALS: KNICKS VS. SPURS

June 13, 2026

Josh Hart

New York Knicks

Game 5: Postgame

New York Knicks 94, San Antonio Spurs 90

Q. Just your emotions right now after winning this.

JOSH HART: Oh, man, this is the best feeling. We worked so hard for this. I give glory to God. Everyone was doubted at some point. This team was doubted at some point. All we focused on was the next game, and all we focused on was those guys in the locker room. People don't understand, we don't really talk about it, but the weight of that jersey, the expectations, the pressure of that jersey. And like I say, today, right now, it's the lightest it's ever felt. All glory to God.

Q. When is the championship episode dropping? Time for OG to be the guest?

JOSH HART: You're going to have to tell OG he has to do that. But when is that going to come? Probably soon. We're going to celebrate this one a little bit. I'm going to celebrate with some Patron, feel a little good and then we'll get back to that.

So, soon. But right now, it's time to celebrate.

Q. This would be special under any circumstances but to also be able to do this with Jalen and Mikal ten years after you guys won the national championship, what is it like to be able to do with guys you've been friends with forever?

JOSH HART: Man, those are my brothers.

JAMES DOLAN: We need to tell everybody in New York -- we know that they are celebrating. We want them to have a great time. Please be safe, right. Don't get hurt. Don't hurt anybody. We're going to have a parade on Thursday. But everybody tonight, in New York, be safe. Celebrate, but be safe.

JOSH HART: Appreciate it.

To answer that question, those are my brothers for life. We have a bond for life. We obviously won the [national] championship, but this one takes the cake. But those are my brothers. I wouldn't want to go into a game with anyone else besides them at my back. I love those guys, and we are going to be friends and brothers for a lifetime.

Q. Jalen is very close to the vest. But you're a father. You know what this means for him to do this with his dad. What is it like to see that play out?

JOSH HART: Oh, man, it's so cool. So cool to see that, because I've seen the hard work. I've seen their relationship. I've seen the work that they both put in to get to this point.

But man, it's so cool to see that they have worked so hard to get to this point, both of them respectively, and to be able to do that with your dad, both played on the same team, that's something they are going to remember for the rest of their lives.

Q. You talk about the weight of the jersey, the weight of the history. Coach Brown was the newest addition to this whole group. I wonder, how did you all go from the beginning of that relationship with Coach to where you are today, and how did you see him move through that pressure and what kind of part did he play?

JOSH HART: Man, Mike was invaluable to this run. He understands what it is to be a champion. He understands how to build a team, how to build habits that will put you in this position. We're so grateful, so thankful to have him at the top. He kept us even so many times. He's brought the best out of us, as people first. I'm so happy for him.

He's the reason why we're here. He's the reason why we're here, and we've got love for him. That's a bond that we are always going to have.

Q. You and Jalen had very vintage performances for yourselves as individuals, you on the glass and him scoring with 45 and in the clutch. I know we ask you this all the time but do you ever get shocked by what he's able to do? Does it ever surprise you any more?

JOSH HART: Nah, for J.B. and Kal, both of them, I'm never shocked at what they do, because we have been built for this moment. We've been all forged in fire. We've had a lot of long moments and times and days at Nova and we just continued to build and build and build. I feel like definitely Coach Wright helped us be cut from a different cloth. No matter what the moment is, it's never too big for us.

That's what we do. We were champions before at the college level and now we're champions as brothers at the ultimate level.

Those guys, they are warriors, and nothing they do surprises me.

Q. So much of your story is different than Jalen and Mikal's, it's a hard way to define how you fit on winning teams in this league. What does this mean to you considering how much you've sacrificed your body and your game and been in different situations throughout your career?

JOSH HART: Yeah, man, it's a part of my testimony. You know, the one thing, no matter what I've always said, I want to be a winner. I want to win a championship at the highest level.

I've been doubted so many times. Traded. Had so much instability. Had, what, seven, eight different head coaches. I found a home in New York, and they embraced me for the person that I am, the player that I am.

I'm not perfect by any means. I make a lot of mistakes, but I try to put my heart out there. I try to do whatever I can do to help the team win. I don't care about points. I don't care about those things. I'm willing to sacrifice whatever it takes for this city, for this jersey, for this franchise.

To win it, glory be to God. They can't doubt me about anything else.

Appreciate it.