The New York Knicks added a player on the wing in the lead-up to the 2023 NBA trade deadline. In a move reported on Wednesday night, New York sent a package of players and a protected first-round pick to the Portland Trail Blazers to acquire the services of the well-traveled Josh Hart.
It’s a nice trade for a Knicks squad with postseason aspirations, and for college basketball fans, it reunites two players from one of the best teams in the last decade, as Hart and fellow Villanova Wildcat Jalen Brunson are now on the same squad. In a fun twist, Brunson was actually back at his alma mater on Wednesday night, as he attended the team’s game against DePaul and saw his jersey get retired. During the game, Brunson got word of the move, and to say he was excited would be an understatement — head to the 18-second mark of the below video to see his reaction.
@jalenbrunson1 post jersey retirement ceremony finding out @joshhart was traded to the @nyknicks pic.twitter.com/bffT3HFzaA
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Nova Hoops (@Capj1344) February 9, 2023
One of their college teammates, Mikal Bridges, was pretty stoked to see them reunited.
Jb and jhart
— Mikal Bridges (@mikal_bridges) February 9, 2023
Hart and Brunson overlapped for two years in college, as they were teammates from 2015-17. The pair were members of the 2016 Wildcats squad that won a national championship, and after Hart was a consensus first-team All-American in 2017, Brunson followed in his footsteps, earning that distinction in 2018 as he led the Wildcats to another national title.