Silver linings are hard to come by following one of the New York Knicks’ worst losses of the season, a 137-134 overtime defeat at the hands of the Eastern Conference-worst Indiana Pacers, in Madison Square Garden, on the first night of a back-to-back. Luckily, Josh Hart delivered one: He is now tied for second all-time in franchise history with 18 triple-doubles.
Oh, and he has a real chance of not just reaching, but surpassing Knicks legend Walt Frazier for the all-time lead.
After tallying 15 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists, Hart now has 18 triple-doubles since joining the team. That ties him with Michael Ray Richardson for second place, and trails Frazier’s franchise-leading 27 by nine.Â
Catching Clyde this season is out of the question. The Knicks have 18 games remaining, and this was only Hart’s second triple-double of the year. Still, assuming he sticks with New York into next season, he has a real chance to overtake the King of Cool.
Sure, we are largely numb to triple-double stat lines these days. I blame Russell Westbrook. And the speed at which teams play. But mostly Russell Westbrook. Even by those hollowed out standards, Hart hitting this milestone and angling for the all-time lead is pretty surreal when you consider he’s playing out his third full season in New York.
More than anything, though, it speaks to the indispensable value he continues to bring this squad.
Josh Hart is the Knicks’ Draymond GreenÂ
For all he does, Hart remains a divisive figure in NBA circles. On-off splits tell the story of a player who is far from irreplaceable. The live action paints a much different picture.
Hart is the Knicks’ version of Peak Draymond Green: a does-bits-of-everything forward who punches above his size and weight, forever scrapping and hustling, all the while transcending his very obvious, sometimes detrimental, offensive flaws with a knack for connecting everyone around him with his pace, playmaking, and painstaking effort. Yes, the two diverge in scope and scale. Hart isn’t anywhere near as dominant on defense as Green. Conversely, as much as defenders sag off him, Hart doesn’t pose the same spacing limitations.
Still, in spirit and function, they are eerily similar—particularly when it comes to setting the tone. Throw away the stat sheet, and the Knicks still need Hart for the infectiousness of his effort and enthusiasm. He is the heartbeat of this group, its emotional bellwether through and through. Â
Not that the stat sheet doesn’t matter. If anything, just as Hart’s triple-double exploits have flown under the radar, so has the absurdity of how many boxes he checks.
Here is a list of every player this season averaging as many points, rebounds, assists, steals, and made threes as Hart: Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic, and Jalen Johnson. That is…bananas.
No, Hart doesn’t ooze top-option mystique the way his statistical brethren do. Heck, he’ll be among the first to admit it. But his importance to the Knicks is on par with any non-superstar in the league. Especially when he’s draining threes at his current clip.
Time will tell whether he passes Frazier on the Knicks’ all-time triple-double list. We don’t need any more time, however, to understand what those numbers, what this chase, represents: Hart’s ability to do it all.