On paper, the New York Knicks drastically improved their roster by trading with the Minnesota Timberwolves this offseason for Karl-Anthony Towns. But in the process, the Knicks broke up the beloved “Nova Knicks” trio, which were finally reunited in a way thanks to an AT&T commercial for the upcoming NCAA Tournament.
Last season, the Knicks had their first 50-win regular season in more than ten years, thanks in large part to the Nova Knicks trio of Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, and Donte DiVincenzo, who of course all played together for two seasons for Villanova, winning a national championship in 2016.
In the trade for Towns, the Knicks had to part ways with DiVincenzo, although they were able to keep a trio of Villanova products on their roster with the addition of Mikal Bridges, who was also on the 2015-16 Villanova team.
Maybe someday, all four Villanova products will play together as members of the Knicks organization. But for the time being, Villanova fans will have to settle for AT&T’s new commercial starring the core four of the 2015-16 Villanova Wildcats that somewhat mocks how DiVincenzo is the odd-man out on a different team.
The Nova Knicks reunited for this hilarious (yet sad) March Madness AT&T commercial! 😂🥲 pic.twitter.com/Ra6TcenNTU
— Knicks Fan TV 🏀🎥📺🏁 (@KnicksFanTv) March 17, 2025
While it is easy to feel for DiVincenzo for being the odd man out of the rest of the Villanova alums in New York, he finds himself in a pretty good situation in Minnesota as well.
Currently, he is playing a key role off the bench for the Timberwolves, who are in the midst of an eight-game winning streak and find themselves squarely in the postseason picture in the Western Conference.
As for Villanova, the program is in a far different position than they once were when the likes of Brunson, Bridges, Hart and DiVincenzo were in town. This season marks the team’s third straight year where they missed out on the NCAA Tournament, which promptly led to head coach Kyle Neptune, the successor to Jay Wright, being fired over the weekend.