Knicks Wing Continues Making Case for Full-Time Starter

One of the faces of the New York Knicks looks more and more like a keeper in the starting five.

Dec 9, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; New York Knicks guard Josh Hart (3) puts up his arms during the second half against the Toronto Raptors at the 2025-26 NBA Emirates Cup at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images | Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images

Last season' New York Knicks starting five was the most heavily-leaned-upon lineup in the NBA. They shared the floor for 940 minutes across the 2024-25 regular season, more than 200 more than the next-closest combination, yet turned in a statistically-mediocre finish. Their Jalen Brunson-dependent offense alienated others, while the variety of impressive defenders let up just about as many points as they scored to finish with a 3.3 net rating.

They appeared to have left a lot on the table, spurring new coach Mike Brown into switching things up. He elected to keep OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns in the starting lineup in a series of obvious choices, but benched Josh Hart in favor of Mitchell Robinson.

The move was intended to shore up the defense in instituting a real rim-protector next to the softer Towns, but Robinson's inconsistent availability soon made it abundantly clear that he's more physically suited for a bench role.

Hart, on the other hand, is really forcing Brown's hand with increasingly-strong play, capping off his ninth-straight game back in the starting lineup with 21 points on 8/11 shooting. The revamped 3-ball has paired well with his energetic defense, providing him with some of the best steal and transition scoring numbers on the squad.

Hart's Two-Way Relief

His big performance in the Knicks first-ever NBA Cup win in the knockout round gave Hart an opportunity to broadcast everything he does that's helped the Knicks, starting with his success as a scorer. Hart flourished as an open shooter, the sort of situation that opposing defenses have happily conceded before he's started hitting over 40% of them on real volume. He hit on four of his seven deep shots in that 117-101 win over the Toronto Raptors.

Dec 9, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; New York Knicks guard Josh Hart (3) celebrates after scoring against the Toronto Raptors during the second half at the 2025-26 NBA Emirates Cup at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images | Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images

That boost has helped him morph into a more helpful half-court player, as he'll always have his strong fast-break finishing to offer. The passing is certainly worth mentioning as well, as are his usual defensive instincts that bagged him another pair of steals in the Knicks' most recent contest.

His newfound comfortability, coupled with Robinson's minutes getting alternated with Towns' workload, have only made Hart's potential full-time return to the starting lineup that much more enticing. It still feels like he's on a trial run at the moment, but advanced statistics agree that he's been a huge help in recreating last season's starting five.

That same combination of players who amounted a meager 3.3 net rating on a 51-win team looks completely different as a defense, holding others 96.9 points allowed per 100 possessions to amount a 30.5 net rating across nine games. Everything that felt incomplete about last season's core seems to have turned all the way back around thanks to the best version of their star hustler.

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