The New York Knicks are gearing up for a playoff run, and one of their locker-room leaders in Josh Hart doesn't necessarily appreciate the energy the team is getting from one of their most famous fans.
On Thursday, that resulted in him telling ESPN's Stephen A. Smith to "shut the hell up."
Strap in, folks: hands and feet inside.
Hart responds, calls Stephen A. Smith a "part-time Knicks fan"
Hart was asked by the media about the criticism directed towards Mikal Bridges, given the controversial five first-round picks the team surrendered to acquire him. Hart told Stefan Bondy that the wing is "doing what's being asked of him," which seemingly angered Smith.
The long-time pundit took it to the next level on an episode of First Take from Seton Hall University, asserting that Hart shouldn't have responded to the question about Bridges at all.
"I need Josh Hart to be quiet. Sit down. The only time I want you standing up and talking is when you're playing," Smith said.
In all fairness to the ESPN analyst, he ended that same rant by encouraging Hart to rise above the noise and criticism so that the Knicks can "make it out of the Eastern Conference." But that didn't stop Hart from responding with his own version of Smith's just-do-your-job-esque remark.
"For me, I think Stephen A., as a part-time Knicks fan, needs to shut the hell up. He barely knows guys that are on the team," Hart told reporters in Charlotte.
The message is loud and clear, the same as Smith's, but with a twist: Hart referenced an April 2024 instance of Smith being unfamiliar with Isaiah Hartenstein, who had already started dozens of games for the Knicks by that point in the season due to Mitchell Robinson's injury woes.
"For me, I think Stephen A., as a part-time Knicks fan, needs to shut the hell up. He barely knows guys that are on the team." -- Josh Hart on Stephen A. Smith's comments about him (and Mikal Bridges).
— Steve Popper (@StevePopper) March 26, 2026
Smith has already responded to Hart, with the analyst taking to The Stephen A. Smith Show to imply that the Knicks' Swiss Army knife veteran should back down.
“First of all, you don’t who I know. Secondly, you don’t know who talks to me. Thirdly, you don’t even know how close I am to the people that cut your checks," Smith said in what many fans have since interpreted as a set of veiled threats.
Whatever it is that Smith is threatening to do, or not, should be irrelevant at this point in the season. Like he was just saying the other day, the Knicks need to focus on making it out of their conference and to the NBA Finals. 82 games is certainly a lot, and it makes sense for distractions to arise. But, to agree again with Smith, the Knicks should probably be above this.