{"id":831987,"date":"2026-09-10T04:06:24","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T04:06:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/831987\/"},"modified":"2026-09-10T04:06:24","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T04:06:24","slug":"josh-hart-has-simple-reason-why-knicks-dont-have-target-on-them-despite-nba-title","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/831987\/","title":{"rendered":"Josh Hart has simple reason why Knicks don&#8217;t have &#8216;target&#8217; on them despite NBA title"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Josh Hart doesn\u2019t see a \u201ctarget\u201d on the Knicks\u2019 back as they prepare to defend their NBA championship.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In fact, the veteran guard sees the exact opposite when asked during an appearance on ESPN\u2019s U.S. Open broadcast on Wednesday night if the rest of the NBA would be gunning for the Knicks.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think we have a big target,\u201d Hart told Chris Fowler and John McEnroe during <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/09\/09\/sports\/alexander-zverev-rolls-into-us-open-semifinals-2\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Alexander Zverev\u2019s quarterfinal win<\/a> over Botic van de Zandschulp. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause I don\u2019t think anyone is picking us to win again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img style=\"aspect-ratio:1.49926794;display:block\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"   data-modal-image=\"40744085\" width=\"885\" height=\"590\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/josh-hart-attends-us-open-140376911.jpg\" alt=\"Josh Hart attends the US Open.\" class=\"wp-image-40744085\"\/>Knicks star Josh Hart attends the US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on Sept. 9, 2026. Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>The Knicks, fresh off ending the franchise\u2019s 53-year title drought, have not been the talk of the NBA offseason. <\/p>\n<p>That belonged to their opening night opponent, the 76ers, who <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/07\/24\/sports\/lebron-james-stunning-new-contract-revealed-after-76ers-decision\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">signed LeBron James<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/07\/01\/sports\/76ers-acquiring-jaylen-brown-from-celtics-for-paul-george-four-draft-picks\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">traded for Celtics star Jaylen Brown<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/06\/22\/sports\/giannis-antetokounmpo-traded-to-heat-in-blockbuster-deal\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Heat added Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/a>, while the Knicks took a run-it-back approach with mostly the same team that beat the Spurs in five games in the NBA Finals.<\/p>\n<p>The only key piece they lost was <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/07\/01\/sports\/mitchell-robinson-leaves-knicks-for-celtics-in-nba-free-agency\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Mitchell Robinson, who signed with Boston<\/a>. The Spurs and Thunder are the current betting favorites to win it all.<\/p>\n<p>Hart, who will be in attendance for the <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/09\/08\/sports\/frances-tiafoes-epic-rally-ends-alex-michelsens-us-open-upset-bid\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Ben Shelton-Frances Tiafoe semifinal<\/a> on Friday night, and the Knicks don\u2019t seem to mind being in the familiar position of being overlooked.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">&#8220;I dont think we have a big target<br \/>Because I don&#8217;t think anyone<br \/>is picking us to win again.<br \/>We&#8217;re using it as fuel<br \/>We&#8217;re still the hunters<br \/>We&#8217;re not satsified with one&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>\u2013\u2013    Josh Hart <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/gc58zBOrkk\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/gc58zBOrkk<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/NBA_NewYork\/status\/2097860532782915643?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow\">September 10, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re using it as fuel,\u201d Hart said. \u201cWe\u2019re still the hunters. We\u2019re not satisfied with one. The next goal is to get another. We\u2019re the hunters, and we like playing that game.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hart has become a beloved figure with Knicks fans during his four seasons with the team. Last year, he averaged 12 points, 7.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists.<\/p>\n<p>Fowler told Hart said that the Knicks with Hart, Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns were likable, team-oriented and easy for a non-New Yorker like him to root for.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img style=\"aspect-ratio:1.51255539;display:block\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"   data-modal-image=\"40744097\" width=\"892\" height=\"590\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/new-york-knicks-vs-san-130316898.jpg\" alt=\"New York Knicks guard Josh Hart, number 3, reacts after scoring a three-point shot in Game 3 of the NBA Finals.\" class=\"wp-image-40744097\"\/>Knicks\u2019 Josh Hart reacts after hitting a 3-pointer during Game 3 of the NBA Finals against the Spurs on June 8, 2026 at Madison Square Garden. Charles Wenzelberg \/ New York Post<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor us, it\u2019s about helping each other,\u201d Hart said. \u201cWe\u2019re all high-character guys. We realized if everyone is willing to sacrifice, you don\u2019t have egos, you\u2019re not selfish, you\u2019re gonna get far. You\u2019re gonna get where you want to go at the end of the season.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0   <\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Josh Hart doesn\u2019t see a \u201ctarget\u201d on the Knicks\u2019 back as they prepare to defend their NBA championship.\u00a0&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":831988,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3768],"tags":[7,327,304,6,1136,191,3810,3806,66,8096,26243],"class_list":["post-831987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-knicks","tag-basketball","tag-josh-hart","tag-knicks","tag-nba","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-knicks","tag-newyork","tag-newyorkknicks","tag-sports","tag-tennis","tag-us-open-tennis"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/117244774904449705","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/831987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=831987"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/831987\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/831988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=831987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=831987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=831987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}