Josh Hart shows his "crazy-looking ring finger" that caused his shooting struggles vs. Indiana: "I should've started doing the Joakim Noah"

Josh Hart shows his “crazy-looking ring finger” that caused his shooting struggles vs. Indiana: “I should’ve started doing the Joakim Noah” originally appeared on Basketball Network.

Josh Hart isn’t really well-known for his scoring. The former Villanova standout is a Swiss army knife-type of player who does a little bit of everything for the New York Knicks.

However, Hart’s offensive contribution was terribly missed by his team during their 2025 Eastern Conference Finals loss to the Indiana Pacers, where he scored in double figures only twice in six games.

During the recent episode of the “Roommates Show” with Knicks captain Jalen Brunson, Hart showed his crazy-looking right ring finger, which he said was the reason why he struggled to shoot against the Pacers.

“It happened at the end of the Boston series. After that, I couldn’t flick with the ball, so I was like cork-screwing it,” said Hart.

Josh was playing through a finger injury

After averaging 14.5 points per game while shooting 37.2 percent from 3-point distance against the Boston Celtics in round two of the playoffs, Hart struggled to average just 8.3 points per game on 18.2 percent 3-point shooting against the Pacers in the ECF. Josh had a 2025 playoffs-low four points on 1-6 shooting in Game 6, where Indiana closed out New York.

During the series, there was no indication that Hart had an injured finger. Save for getting bloodied after being accidentally struck in the face by Boston big man Luke Kornet in Game 5, everyone thought that Hart was just off with his shooting during the Eastern Conference finals.

However, it turns out he couldn’t shoot because of an injury to the ring finger of his shooting hand.

“I should’ve started doing the Joakim Noah just with two hands at that point, cuz what I was doing against Indiana in that series wasn’t working,” added Hart, referring to the unorthodox shooting form of the 2014 NBA Defensive Player of the Year winner.

Ready in six weeks

It looks like John and Jalen recorded the podcast episode much earlier because last Wednesday, the Knicks announced that Hart had already undergone a procedure to repair his crazy-looking finger and that he is expected to be ready for action in six weeks, just in time for the start of basketball activities.

The 30-year-old is coming off his best season in three years playing in New York. In 77 games played, which is also his most as a Knick, Hart averaged 13.6 points and career highs with 9.6 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and 1.5 steals per game while leading the team in minutes played at 37.6 per outing.

During the postseason, Hart’s numbers declined to 11.6 points, 8.8 rebounds and 4.4 assists over 18 games. In Game 6 versus the Celtics, Josh had 10 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists to become the first Knicks player since Walt Frazier in 1972 to record a playoff triple-double. Unfortunately, it was right about the same time when he hurt his finger, and he wasn’t much of a factor in the next series against Indiana.

However, nothing will change next season when Hart returns healthy. He’ll still be the glue-guy for the Knicks, but this time, his coach won’t be Tom Thibodeau anymore, but Mike Brown, who the franchise hired in his stead.

This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jul 19, 2025, where it first appeared.

Josh Hart shows his “crazy-looking ring finger” that caused his shooting struggles vs. Indiana: “I should’ve started doing the Joakim Noah”

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