Since joining the New York Knicks midway through the 2022-23 campaign, Josh Hart has served as a key figure within the club's championship-aspiring DNA.
Though perhaps not the established All-Star that Jalen Brunson or Karl-Anthony Towns is, nor is he the highly-priced commodity Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby are, fans are well aware that the 30-year-old is every bit as important to the team's overall success.
Recently, it seems this sentiment has made it all the way to the mainstream, as Bleacher Report's Greg Swartz recently declared Hart as someone who "plays a style of basketball that all teams need to win."
Knicks fans already well versed in how Josh Hart 'impacts winning'
While shouting out the most underrated players in the game today, Swartz, who placed Hart seventh in his ranks, praised the Knicks' stud for his Swiss Army Knife efforts on the hardwood, particularly highlighting his ability to play well beyond his size.
"Hart is the NBA's best rebounder for his size. He's the only player 6'5" or shorter to register a total rebound percentage of 13.0 percent or higher (13.6 percent) and nearly averaged a double-double a year ago (13.6 points, 9.6 rebounds) despite his height," Swartz said of Hart.
Here in his ninth season in the association, including his third full year with the Knicks, Hart is having perhaps the best all-around campaign of his entire career.
Through 47 games played, the forward is dropping impressive averages of 11.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, 5.2 assists (career-high), and 1.1 steals while shooting 49.4 percent from the floor and a career-best 39.7 percent from deep.
Of course, its been his impact on the Knicks since being inserted into the starting lineup on a full-time basis that's really seemed to tickle Swartz's fancy, as he's posting 12.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 1.2 steals on 49.8 percent shooting from the field and 41.4 percent shooting from deep while placing third on the team in plus-minus (plus-5.3) over a 33 game span in such a role.
It's also worth noting that New York has gone 23-10 during this stretch, a far cry from the team's middling 8-9 record when head coach Mike Brown was "wrongfully" using him as a reserve, and has sported a mere .500 record of 6-6 in the 12 games he's been out so far in 2025-26.
From his under-the-radar ball-handling and distributing skills to, as Swartz already praised, his elite board gobbling abilities, the veteran is truly a big ball of energy and provides a level of activity in all facets of the game that is virtually unrivaled by anyone else in the league, let alone this team.
Again, even though he might not be New York's headline star, it's undeniable that Josh Hart is the true heart and soul of the Knicks.