Josh Hart Ruthlessly Called Out Victor Wembanyama and Two Knicks’ Non-Believers After NBA Title Win

Josh Hart didn’t hold back in a no-filter episode of his and Jalen Brunson’s podcast, “The Roommates Show,” after the Knicks won the NBA championship. | Screengrab on Twitter/ @ohnohedidnt24

Most of the Knicks are still riding the high of winning their first championship in 53 years—except for Josh Hart, who wanted to settle some scores during a live taping of The Roommates Show podcast on Friday night.

Hart, an elite rebounder and relentless hustler who’s considered the backbone of the Knicks’ title-clinching squad, brought his ball-chasing instincts back to Madison Square Garden where he ruthlessly clapped back at a few Knicks’ non-believers, as well as one particular Spurs superstar.

Hart perhaps went the most viral for calling out Victor Wembanyama over the Spurs center’s deeply emotional reaction after winning the Western Conference finals series against the Thunder.

“Everyone’s talking about how [the Spurs] gotta beat OKC. Like, ‘OKC’s gonna repeat, OKC’s gonna repeat.’ And then they beat OKC, and that was like, for a young team, a mountaintop for them. ... You see that reaction because they think they gon' win it. They think it's over,” Hart said.

“And then you look at our reaction after we beat Cleveland, and it was tough to celebrate. We were like, ‘We got four more.” Obviously winning the Eastern Conference is an amazing accomplishment, but we all looked at that like it was just a step, this isn’t the destination.”

"You see that reaction because they think they gon' win it. They think it's over."

Josh Hart spoke about the Knicks watching the Spurs celebrate after beating OKC 👀@Roommates__Show special episode from MSG | 10 ET on ESPN and the ESPN App 🗽 pic.twitter.com/Cg8VFpem6o

— ESPN (@espn) June 20, 2026

Wembanyama produced one of the most iconic images of the NBA postseason when, after the final whistle in Game 7 of the WCF, he buried his head in his hands and broke down in tears of joy. The 22-year-old couldn’t hold back his emotions on the court while celebrating one of the biggest wins of his young career, as the Spurs had just knocked out the defending champs and booked their spot to the Finals.

Some were moved by Wemby’s passionate display of emotion.

“The emotion that that kid showed after Game 7, it almost brought tears to my eyes,” NBA analyst Charles Barkley said. “The NBA is in a great place having that kid as the face of our league for the next 20 years.”

Others, like Hart, seemed to think it was disrespectful given that the job wasn’t finished, and the Spurs still had to go through the “underdog” Knicks in the Finals. New York went on to stun the Spurs by stealing the first two games on their home court and then closing out the series in five games.

Josh Hart brought out the receipts for Knicks superfan Stephen A. Smith

Stephen A. Smith publicly apologized for a few of his Knicks takes that did not age well after New York’s NBA title win. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

No one was safe from Hart’s spiteful post-championship spiel on The Roommates Show, not even well-known Knicks fan Stephen A. Smith.

The ESPN analyst joined the live taping as a guest on the show, and it didn’t take long for Hart to pull up some old receipts.

A decade ago, Smith said on First Take that Villanova “doesn’t have a real NBA prospect on this squad,” referring to the 2016 Wildcats team that just won the NCAA tournament with a core group of Hart, Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges and Donte DiVincenzo, among others. Then, when the Knicks were pursuing Brunson in free agency in 2022, Smith infamously blasted the franchise for what he believed was a huge mistake.

“Look, I mean Jalen Brunson is a nice player. I hope he gets paid. But the Knicks are acting like he’s KD,” Smith said. “... I’m tired y’all. JALEN BRUNSON ISN’T THE ANSWER!”

Smith later doubled down on his take: “You creating this cap space to get Jalen Brunson? Is he KD? Is he Kawhi Leonard? ... All of this stuff you’re going to because you’re selling New York on Jalen Brunson?”

Well, Hart made sure Smith ate his words in public on Friday night.

“Can you sit here and admit you were wrong?” Hart asked Smith.

“I’m a grown-ass man. I was beyond wrong,” Smith said. “I’m apologizing to this brother on national television, I’m apologizing to you, I’m apologizing to the entire Knicks organization. Let me be very, very clear: I have never been more happy to be wrong in my life.”

.@stephenasmith tells Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson he was wrong 😅

Watch the entire @Roommates__Show special from MSG at 10 ET on ESPN and the ESPN App 🗽 pic.twitter.com/L5pXE3VIH9

— ESPN (@espn) June 19, 2026

You can watch the full segment with Smith here.

Josh Hart heavily implies that Becky Hammon should apologize for her Brunson comments

Aces coach Becky Hammon infamously criticized Jalen Brunson for being too small to win a championship. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Plenty had their doubts about the 2026 Knicks squad, including Las Vegas Aces coach and former Spurs assistant Becky Hammon. The notorious Knicks skeptic made headlines back in 2023 when she claimed Jalen Brunson wasn’t big enough to win a chip.

“If your best player is small, you’re not winning,” Hammon said on NBA Today of the 6’2’’ Brunson. She explained that she couldn’t put the Knicks superstar in the “1A tier” alongside the likes of LeBron James, Steph Curry (Hammon said Curry was an outlier) and Joel Embiid and emphasized that the game “favors the tall.”

Hammon doubled down on her take last May but admitted that Brunson could very well prove her wrong. And that’s exactly what he did.

In the Knicks’ title-clinching Game 5 of the NBA Finals, Brunson went off for 45 points in an offensive masterclass that solidified his place among the franchise greats.

Hart, for one, thinks Hammon ought to apologize to the 2026 Finals MVP in the wake of the Knicks’ championship win.

“I'm not naming names. I'm still waiting for somebody to say they was wrong about someone who led our team to a Final, a championship in 53 years,” Hart said. “I’m still waiting for somethin’. I know they have media availability, so we'll be waiting for that apology.”

Josh: "I'm not naming names: I'm still waiting for somebody––

Crowd: "BECKY"

Josh: "…to say they was wrong about someone who led our team to a championship…I know they have media availability so we'll be waiting for that apology"@Roommates__Show at MSG on ESPN pic.twitter.com/zcl5IrQbNE

— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) June 20, 2026

Hammon wasn’t at all interested in walking back her comments a month ago, and she probably isn’t going to now, even if Brunson did prove her wrong.

“I think Jalen Brunson's a hell of a player. I'm speaking historically on the NBA with what I said. I don't know why everybody's so stuck on that. I said it two years ago. I stand by it. There’s no air to be cleared,” Hammon said in May.

It doesn’t seem that Brunson’s waiting for an apology, either.

Brunson was asked after the Knicks’ title win about what he would say to critics who don’t believe he’s a “1A guy:” “I didn't respond to them then, I'm damn sure not gonna respond to them now.”

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