In most instances, professional athletes are typically disappointed or upset to hear they won't be starting a game, especially a contest with big implications. But the New York Knicks' Josh Hart is not most athletes. And he truly wasn't pressed when that exact thing happened to him ahead of Sunday night's Game 3 vs. the Indiana Pacers.
In between Games 2 and 3 of the Knicks' Eastern Conference finals series, reports began to emerge that head coach Tom Thibodeau was considering starting center Mitchell Robinson in Hart's place. And when the time came, that's exactly what went down.
But asked after the game about the change-up, the Villanova export was totally unbothered, and noted that all he really cared about was winning.
“It wasn’t a tough day,” Hart told reporters. “It was funny, 'cause everyone would say something to me [about it] or guys would text me on other teams and all that and I’m like, brah, I don’t care. I don’t care if I start. I don’t care if I play 20 minutes. If we win, we win.”
Moreover, Hart made clear that he "had a hand in that decision" to start Robinson and that he "never really cared" if it happened.
"It was something that I've had in the back of my mind and I've always been willing to do," he noted, adding that he suggested such a move during the Boston series, as well. "Down two, especially with how he played last game, that's something that we had to do. And obviously that's a group decision and it really boils down to Thibs and myself. "
Watch that below:
Clearly, Hart's selflessness there paid off. As teammate Jalen Brunson noted, Hart "doesn't care for anything individual, just wants to win." And win the Knicks did, inching by with a 106-100 victory that tightened the series gap from two games to one.
The guard finished with eight points, 10 rebounds, and four assists, while Robinson grabbed six points, six rebounds, and one assist.
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