Josh Hart facts for kids

For the drag racer, see Josh Hart (racer). For the baseball player, see Josh Hart (baseball).

Quick facts for kids
Josh Hart
No. 3 – New York Knicks
Hart in 2022
Small forward / shooting guard
Personal information
Born	(1995-03-06) March 6, 1995 (age 30) Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S.
High school	Wheaton (Silver Spring, Maryland) Sidwell Friends School (Washington, D.C.)
Listed height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight	215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
College	Villanova (2013–2017)
NBA Draft	2017 / Round: 1 / Pick: 30th overall
Selected by the Utah Jazz
Pro career	2017–present
League	NBA
Career history
2017–2019	Los Angeles Lakers
2017	→South Bay Lakers
2019–2022	New Orleans Pelicans
2022–2023	Portland Trail Blazers
2023–present	New York Knicks

Career highlights and awards
NCAA champion (2016) Consensus first-team All-American (2017) Third-team All-American – NABC (2016) Senior CLASS Award (2017) Julius Erving Award (2017) Big East Player of the Year (2017) Big East Co-Defensive Player of the Year (2017) 2× First-team All-Big East (2016, 2017) Big East Sixth Man of the Year (2015) Big East All-Freshman Team (2014) 2× Big East tournament MOP (2015, 2017) Robert V. Geasey Trophy (2017) No. 3 retired by Villanova Wildcats

Joshua Aaron Hart (born March 6, 1995) is an American professional basketball player. He plays for the New York Knicks in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Hart was chosen in the first round of the 2017 NBA draft. The Utah Jazz picked him 30th overall. He was then traded to the Los Angeles Lakers on draft night.

He played college basketball for Villanova. As a junior, he helped the Wildcats win a national championship in 2016. He was named an All-American in 2017. After two seasons with the Lakers, he was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans in 2019. In 2022, he joined the Portland Trail Blazers. He was traded to the New York Knicks in 2023.

Early Life and High School

Josh Hart was born on March 6, 1995, in Silver Spring, Maryland. His parents are Moses and Pat Hart. He has two siblings. His great-nephew is the famous baseball catcher Elston Howard.

From a young age, Josh loved basketball. He was known for playing with lots of energy. He first went to Wheaton High School. Later, he moved to Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C. In his junior year, he scored about 20.6 points and grabbed 11.6 rebounds per game.

As a senior, he averaged 24.3 points and 13.4 rebounds. He also had 2.8 steals per game. This helped his team get a 22–9 record. He was named a first-team All-Met player. He also became an Eagle Scout in 2013.

After high school, Hart decided to play for Villanova. He signed with them in November 2012. He said he wanted to do whatever his coaches needed to help the team win. This included getting rebounds or diving for loose balls.

College Career

Freshman Year (2013–2014)

As a freshman at Villanova, Josh Hart was named to the Big East All-Rookie Team. He averaged 7.8 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. He was named Big East Rookie of the Week three times. In one game, he scored 17 points and had 11 rebounds against Mount St. Mary's. He also scored a season-high 19 points against Rider.

Sophomore Year (2014–2015)

In his second year, Hart scored 20 points in a win against Temple. He also scored 21 points in an overtime win against Syracuse.

Hart was named the Big East's Sixth Man of the Year. This award goes to the best player who usually comes off the bench. His coach, Jay Wright, said Hart was perfect for this role. Hart was also named the most outstanding player of the 2015 Big East men's basketball tournament. He was the first bench player to win this award. He averaged 17.7 points per game in the tournament. His three-point shooting improved a lot this season. He averaged 10.1 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.

Junior Year (2015–2016)

Hart playing for Villanova in 2017

The Villanova Wildcats were expected to win their conference this season. Hart scored a career-high 27 points against Akron. On January 2, 2016, he scored 25 points against Creighton. Hart helped the Wildcats reach number one in the national rankings.

He was chosen for the first-team All-Big East. He was also named a third-team All-American. Hart then helped Villanova win its second national championship. This was the first time they won since 1985. He averaged 15.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game. After the season, Hart thought about joining the NBA draft. But he decided to stay in college for his senior year.

Senior Year (2016–2017)

Before his senior season, Hart was named Preseason Player of the Year for the Big East. He was also named to the Associated Press preseason All-America team.

In November, Hart scored a new career-high of 30 points against Wake Forest. On December 10, he scored 37 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, and had four assists. This helped Villanova win against Notre Dame and start the season 10–0.

On March 11, 2017, Hart scored 29 points in a win against Creighton. However, Villanova's season ended in disappointment. They lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. On January 19, 2022, Villanova honored Hart by retiring his number 3 jersey.

Professional Career

Los Angeles Lakers (2017–2019)

The Utah Jazz drafted Josh Hart in 2017. But he was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers right away. In his first game as a starter, he scored 11 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. This was against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

In February 2018, Hart broke his left hand. He was out until the end of March. In his last game as a rookie, he scored a career-high 30 points. He made 7 of 9 three-pointers. He finished his first season averaging 7.9 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. He also had 8 games where he scored double-digits in two categories. He led the team in three-point percentage.

Before the 2018–19 season, he changed his jersey number to 3. In March 2019, he had knee surgery and missed the rest of the season.

New Orleans Pelicans (2019–2022)

On July 6, 2019, the Lakers traded Hart to the New Orleans Pelicans. This trade also included Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram. It was part of a big trade for All-Star Anthony Davis.

On February 16, 2021, Hart scored a season-high 27 points. He also had nine rebounds in a win against the Memphis Grizzlies. On November 13, 2021, he had a career-high 11 assists. This helped the Pelicans win against the Grizzlies.

Portland Trail Blazers (2022–2023)

On February 8, 2022, the Portland Trail Blazers got Hart in a trade. This trade also involved other players and draft picks. On March 12, Hart scored a career-high 44 points. He also had 8 rebounds and 6 assists in a win against the Washington Wizards.

On November 7, 2022, Hart scored 12 points and had nine rebounds. He also made a game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer. This helped the Trail Blazers beat the Miami Heat.

New York Knicks (2023–Present)

Hart stands next to his former coach Chauncey Billups during a game against the Trail Blazers in 2024.

On February 8, 2023, the Trail Blazers agreed to trade Hart to the New York Knicks. The trade was later changed to include four teams. On February 11, Hart played his first game for the Knicks. He scored 11 points and had seven rebounds. On April 16, Hart played in his first career playoff game. He scored 17 points and had 10 rebounds in a win.

On August 10, 2023, Hart signed a new contract with the Knicks. On January 30, 2024, Hart got his first career triple-double. He had 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. On February 8, he got his second triple-double. He had 23 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists. On February 26, Hart made a game-winning layup against the Detroit Pistons. On March 18, he played all 48 minutes of a game. This is a rare achievement for a player.

On December 30, 2024, Hart got another triple-double. He had 23 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists. In the next game on January 1, 2025, he got another triple-double. He had 15 points, 14 rebounds, and 12 assists. He became one of only five Knicks players to get two triple-doubles in a row.

National Team Career

Hart played for the United States national team in the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup. He led the team in rebounds, with 5.3 per game. Team USA finished in fourth place in the tournament.

Career Statistics

NBA

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2017–18	L.A. Lakers	63	23	23.2	.469	.396	.703	4.2	1.3	.7	.3	7.9
2018–19	L.A. Lakers	67	22	25.6	.407	.336	.688	3.7	1.4	1.0	.6	7.8
2019–20	New Orleans	65	16	27.0	.423	.342	.739	6.5	1.7	1.0	.4	10.1
2020–21	New Orleans	47	4	28.7	.439	.326	.775	8.0	2.3	.8	.3	9.2
2021–22	New Orleans	41	40	33.5	.505	.323	.753	7.8	4.1	1.1	.3	13.4
2021–22	Portland	13	13	32.1	.503	.373	.772	5.4	4.3	1.2	.2	19.9
2022–23	Portland	51	51	33.4	.504	.304	.731	8.2	3.9	1.1	.2	9.5
2022–23	New York	25	1	30.0	.586	.519	.789	7.0	3.6	1.4	.5	10.2
2023–24	New York	81	42	33.4	.434	.310	.791	8.3	4.1	.9	.3	9.4
Career		453	212	29.2	.459	.344	.748	6.6	2.7	1.0	.3	9.8

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2023	New York	11	5	32.1	.479	.313	.636	7.4	2.2	.8	.3	10.4
2024	New York	13	13	42.1	.440	.373	.729	11.5	4.5	1.0	.8	14.5
Career		24	18	37.5	.455	.352	.700	9.6	3.5	.9	.5	12.6

College

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2013–14	Villanova	34	1	21.4	.500	.313	.677	4.4	.9	.6	.3	7.8
2014–15	Villanova	36	2	25.5	.515	.464	.670	4.5	1.5	1.1	.4	10.1
2015–16	Villanova	40	39	31.4	.513	.357	.752	6.8	1.9	1.2	.3	15.5
2016–17	Villanova	36	35	33.1	.510	.404	.747	6.4	2.9	1.6	.3	18.7
Career		146	77	28.0	.511	.389	.720	5.6	1.8	1.1	.3	13.2

Awards and Honors

College

Hart dunking the basketball in 2017

Eagle Scout (2013)
NCAA champion (2016)
Big East Player of the Year (2017)
Julius Erving Award (2017)
First-team All-American – SN (2017)
Third-team All-American (2016)
First-team All-Big East (2016, 2017)
Big East tournament MOP (2015)
Big East Sixth Man of the Year (2015)
Robert V. Geasey Trophy (2017)

Personal Life

Josh Hart enjoys playing video games. He often plays Call of Duty: Modern Warfare on his Twitch channel.

He is a fan of the Washington Commanders, his hometown football team. He also supports the English Premier League football club Chelsea F.C..

In October 2020, he gave $10,000 to help with the Napa Valley wildfires.

Hart is married to Shannon Phillips. They have twin boys, who were born in May 2023. His great-nephew is the former New York Yankee Elston Howard.