Knicks Star Applauds Old Teammate's New Deal

One New York Knicks star offered a cheer for Damian Lillard's return to the Pacific Northwest.

Nov 25, 2022; New York, New York, USA; Portland Trail Blazers injured guard Damian Lillard (left) and guard Josh Hart (11) react during overtime against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

New York Knicks star Josh Hart couldn't help but show some love for his former teammate upon the latter earning a new deal in a familiar locale.

Shams Charania of ESPN reported on Thursday that Damian Lillard would return to the Portland Trail Blazers on a three-year, $42 million contract, placing back him in Portland's red-and-black after two years with the Milwaukee Bucks.

Lillard, 35, spent the first 11 seasons of his decorated NBA career with the Blazers, which included a brief collaboration with Hart. The Knicks star offered Lillard pixelated props upon Charnia's report, commemorating the move on X with a series of emojis depicting hands clapping.

👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 https://t.co/hG4JljYbIS

— Josh Hart (@joshhart) July 17, 2025

Originally drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers upon his exit from Villanova in 2019 before moving to the New Orleans Pelicans, Hart came to Portland at the 2022 trade deadline. In parts of two seasons with a Blazers group headlined by Lillard, Hart averaged 11.7 points and 7.6 rebounds.

Another deadline move send Hart to the Knicks and the rest has been metropolitan history: Hart has developed into a reliable source of hustle and grit, averaging a career-best 13.6 points and 9.6 rebounds last season. Hart also put up nine triple-doubles en route to the Knicks' first conference final showing since 2000, breaking a long-standing single-season record held by New York icon Walt "Clyde" Frazier.

Upon Hart's move to New York, Lillard spoke highly of the friendship the two had formed.

"I know that he liked being in Portland. He wanted to be in Portland," Lillard told Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian in 2023. "When you get people to come here and know that they want to be here, but the business takes over, it’s just unfortunate. So, like I said, it’s part of the business. It’s the thing that I struggle with the most about it, but it’s part of it. That’s what we sign up for.”

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