The case to send Josh Hart to the All-Star Game

Hustle players never make the all-star team, but Josh should be an exception.

Tonight, the NBA reveals the remainder of the 2024 NBA All-Star teams. If you’re a Knicks fan, there really isn’t a reason to watch. Both Knicks who had a shot in hell of being an all-star were announced as starters last week. If you’re a basketball fan in general, you’ll probably tune in anyway, but the remaining seven East All-Stars will not be Knick-flavored.

Here, today, I’m here to make a case for a third Knick to join the all-star team.

No, it’s not defensive savant OG Anunoby, who seems to be rejuvenated with the recent layoff.

No, it’s not Mikal Bridges, who is third in all of basketball in rim FG%, top 20 in 2PT%, and has been a tremendous two-way player lately.

The man I’ll advocate for is the lowest-scoring member of the starting five. A man who, for the box score watchers, doesn’t even belong in this discussion. But, due to the weak state of the Eastern Conference forwards, I think he deserves some consideration, even if as an injury replacement.

That man is the h(e)art and soul of the New York Knicks, Josh Hart.

If we merely look at the box score, Hart doesn’t come close. If counted as a guard, he would have nearly a dozen guys ahead of him. Even as a forward, he would be fourth on his own team. It’s the impact away from the stats I am asking the coaches to consider.

Every coach would kill for a Josh Hart. A man who will play 48 minutes with no problem (despite what he may say off the court), hustle for every loose ball, grab game-breaking rebounds, and be one of the best finishers in the league. He has a thankless job.

Let’s go through some numbers. First, Hart enters tonight’s proceedings, averaging 9.7 rebounds per game. That is only 19th in the league, sure, but Hart is shorter than the eighteen in front of him. The only person in the top 20 other than Hart who isn’t a big or a Giannis-type is Jalen Johnson, who is a 6’8” wing.

Among all players shorter than 6’7”, Hart is one of four players over seven rebounds a night, with the other three being Luka Doncic (6’5”), Zion Williamson (doesn’t qualify anyway), and P.J. Washington (6’6”).

They showed a graphic last night. If Josh got up to ten rebounds a game, he’d be the fourth guard in league history to do so, behind Oscar Robertson, Russell Westbrook, and Tom Gola.

Among players who’ve played at least twenty games and are under 6’7”, Hart leads them with 2.2 offensive rebounds per game, with P.J. Washington coming second with 1.6. He also has a very solid AST/TOV ratio of 3.0, being second on the Knicks in assists with 5.7 per game.

Let’s go deeper. Josh Hart has been ridiculously money from inside the arc.

Hart is shooting 66.3% from 2 as a 6’4” guard. Only four players in the association shoot better (min. 6 2PA/G). All four are traditional big men.

I discussed this earlier in the season, but once again, this would be a record.

No guard in NBA history has ever shot that well from 2. His 55.6 FG% would be T-14th among guards in league history (but is second this season, Christian Braun has had a great year).

Let’s dig even deeper. Hart is shooting 73.8% in the restricted area. That is also fifth in the entire NBA (min. 200 FGA). If you take out centers, he’s first. Even if you drop it to, let’s say, 100 FGA, he’s second.

Oh, hi Mikal.

Let’s dig even deeper.

The cool thing about the NBA stats page now is that they have hustle metrics. This is Josh Hart’s symphony.

He’s tied for eleventh in deflections, in the range of defensive studs like Jaden McDaniels and Keon Ellis.

He’s a clear and obvious first in loose balls recovered with 57. Cason Wallace is second with only 44.

Hart has filled the stat-sheet in many ways other than scoring. His six triple-doubles are fifth in the NBA behind two all-star starters, a likely all-star reserve, and Domantas Sabonis.

He is tied for 12th in the NBA with 22 double-doubles. The guys in front of him are all bigs except for Trae Young. He is a 6’4” guard with almost all of those being points and rebounds.

He has 24 games with double-digit rebounds. He has eleven games with 4+ offensive rebounds. He has seven games with double-digit assists and fifteen with at least seven.

Oh yeah, and he also is a workhorse like no other with a motor like no other. He makes these hustle plays despite averaging 37.5 minutes per game, only behind Mikal Bridges and Tyrese Maxey.

Alright, you may not be convinced.

Does he not score enough for you?

Hart averages a serviceable 13.9 points per game. Excluding the 2019 special all-stars, there have been TWENTY-THREE all-stars since 2010 with fewer points per game.

Not all of them are defense-dominant centers like Roy Hibbert and Joakim Noah, guys like Draymond Green who played for dynasties, or stars who got voted in as starters (see: late-career Kobe).

Rajon Rondo got in a few times because of his elite playmaking.

Kyle Korver averaged a tiny 12/4/3 in 2014-15.

Andre Iguodala averaged 12/6/6 in 2011-12.

2009-10 Jason Kidd averaged 10/9/6.

Is it really unreasonable to put Hart averaging 14/10/6 on 56/36/81 into the all-star game for a 32-16 team? He got 18 players to vote for him, as many as Tyrese Haliburton and Tyler Herro!

Coaches have shown they’re not big fans of players like the now-injured LaMelo Ball and Trae Young. Hart is even beating Jaylen Brown in a lot of categories!

Almost nobody does the things he does. At bare minimum, get this man teamed up with Brunson and KAT in the Skills Challenge. The world needs to appreciate this man more.