Knicks' Josh Hart will do anything it takes to win a championship

PHOENIX — Quick, without scouring the internet, consider these questions.

How many points per game did Dave DeBusschere average in the Knicks' championship seasons? What about Bill Bradley's points and assists? How many did Jerry Lucas average?

Unless you have Lucas' memory skills — look that up rather than the stats — very few numbers come to mind when you think back to the two Knicks squads that earned NBA championship banners.

And that is the recognition that Josh Hart is seeking as he dives and bounces around the floor with the fervor of a 5-year-old kid playing soccer, chasing the ball wherever it goes on the court.

“I mean, I’m looking at it, I’m about to turn 30 this season,” Hart told Newsday. “I always told my wife, I’m hanging it up around 34 or 35, maybe with God’s grace get 36 in there. But I’ve got hopefully five years left in the league.

“One thing I’ve always wanted was a [championship]. For me, that’s more important than the statistics. When you win a [championship], no one remembers how much you scored. No one remembers what your role is. They care about [if] you got a ring. And at the end of the day, I’ve got hopefully five years left, maybe six. I’m on the back end. That’s what I’m trying to accomplish.”

For the Knicks to get there, still a long path even with the rebuilt roster, they don’t need Hart to score 20 points a game. They have Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns for that. Newcomer Mikal Bridges averaged 26.1 points two years ago after coming to Brooklyn in a midseason trade. OG Anunoby is matching a career-high 17.1 points this season.

Hart has drastically improved his shooting, from outside the arc and from two-point range, where he led the NBA at 75.6% entering Thursday night, but he still ranks last in scoring (14.1) among the five starters. However, he’s second in rebounding (9.0), second in assists (5.9) and tied for second in steals (1.1) and has the lowest turnover rate among the starters. And he does it all while pinballing his way around the court.

At 6-4, he somehow pulls down rebounds amid crowds of players nearly a foot taller. He serves as a point guard, getting the team into sets and leading fast breaks after pulling down defensive rebounds. And despite grumbling at times last season and in preseason this year about his role — mostly to himself —   he is tasked with doing everything.

“He’s like a Swiss army knife,”  coach Tom Thibodeau said. “There’s so many different things that he does. He can initiate offense. He moves well without the ball. He plays fast. He can play in transition. He’s worked extremely hard on his shooting. I think he feels good about his shot. He put a lot of time into it, so that’s positive for us. I think having the ability to initiate is huge for our team. The defense, the toughness, the hustle plays are, I think, the big thing. He’s just got a knack for coming up with the ball. Those extra-effort plays give your team a lot of energy, and we need that.”

“He’s always been that guy,” Brunson said. “Whatever the objective is, whatever is needed, he comes to the table ready to go. He’s always had that. And so, obviously, you get to the NBA, roles change. But his approach and mindset have always stayed the same.”

Even at Villanova, when they were college teammates, after which Hart  entered the league as a higher draft pick than Brunson?

“Yeah, he was the same,” Brunson said. “A lunatic.”

That is a conscious decision. Every player in the NBA once was a star, the best player their high school or college had ever seen. And Hart was a consensus All-American in his final year at Villanova, came into the league as a late first-round pick and had a moment when he seemed he could become the scorer that teams covet.

“I think I kind of always knew that, even going into the league,” Hart said. “I think it was a big realization the year I got traded from New Orleans to Portland. I think for New Orleans I was averaging [13.4 points]. I think I only played 12 games for Portland, but I averaged like 20 [19.9]. I had pretty good shooting splits.

“So, like, that season I averaged [14.9] and it didn’t matter. That’s when I realized that my job isn’t to go out here and try to score. My job is to go out there and play my game, bring energy defensively, pick my spots, be a connector, especially with a team like this. We have three guys that have been No. 1 options at certain points in their career. And then you have OG, who is a champion, who knows how to play the game . . . So my job is to go out there and be a connector, pick my spots and be aggressive. I’m out there to connect the dots, and I’m happy with doing that.

“I think Coach  Wright knew a little bit and told me a little bit about it,” he said, referring to former Villanova coach Jay Wright. “But at the end of the day, no matter what people say, you have to go through it and figure it out yourself. That’s something I felt like I did. I think sometimes that’s part of the reason why I might turn down some shots. That’s not my role. That’s not what I’m paid to do, shoot eight threes a game. I’m paid to play my game.”

 Hart rarely gets a breather and performs at a higher speed than most of the players on the court, and it's hard to argue that he isn’t earning his pay. On Wednesday night against the Suns, he poked the ball loose from Royce O’Neale in the lane, recovered it among a crowd of Suns players, dribbled and spun among three defenders, lost control of the ball, recovered it and finally flipped in a layup before his teammates could catch up. Then he screamed at the ball.

“I got the steal and it was just kind of chaos,” Hart said. “I had it, then I lost it, then I had it again and lost it again. Once I got it off the fake spin, the half spin, it got tipped. It was just me and the basket. And I was like, all right, cool. I was yelling at the ball, telling it to go in its hole.”

Asked about the play, Thibodeau rubbed his eyes and smiled.

“Somehow he keeps it.  He has a good feel for the game, but it can be choppy at times,” he said. “I know, at the end of the day, there’s going to be a lot more good plays than there are bad. That’s what you want. He’s going to get you extra possessions because of the all-out hustle. That’s what winning’s about.”

By Steve Popper

steve.popper@newsday.com@StevePopper

Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.