Josh Hart explains real reason why he hated his now-Knicks teammates at Villanova

Once college mates, now Knicks teammates are writing their journey in a way that netizens are loving seeing them together.

Just before the NBA Finals, during a press conference, Hart opened up about why he didn’t like Jalen Brunson or Mikal Bridges when he first met them.

“I hated Jalen. I thought he was one of those annoying five-star recruits who come in entitled,” said Hart.

“Unfortunately, he was the opposite, and we sparked a friendship, and we’re still friends to this day.

“But yeah, we still keep in touch. But that’s why my thought process was. I hated him to start. Hated him during his visit. Probably the beginning of his freshman year, I hated him,” Hart recalled.

He continued, “Mikal was the same way. I hated him, too. He came in, and we obviously played similar positions, especially in college.

“And, he was just, he was weaker, more frail than I was, so he would grab me, and I hated it. So obviously love those guys now, but I didn’t really.”

Then Hart went on to reveal the ‘real reason’ behind his ‘hatred,’ saying, “I think I lived with Jalen during his sophomore year. And we just happened, you become close just with that situation. He was still extremely annoying, but I got to be able to tolerate the annoyingness a little bit more because I had to deal with it every single day.”

“I kind of tormented Mikal a little bit, as an older guy. I think there was one time I texted him after I, like, threw him to the ground one practice. I texted him after I was like, ‘Yo, you good?’ And like, you know, we hashed it out then, and we’ve been cool since.”

Three of New York’s starting five attended college together at Villanova University of Pennsylvania.

They bagged two NCAA national championships together (2016, 2018).

As the NBA Finals are underway, Hart, Brunson and Bridges could write the next chapter in history, becoming the fifth set of teammates to win NCAA and NBA championships together.