Josh Hart is still waiting for Becky Hammon to own up to earlier comments about Jalen Brunson, after the Knicks’ star went on to lead New York to a 2026 NBA title.
Josh Hart didn’t just bring up Becky Hammon’s past words on Sunday night in New York—he demanded an answer.
While the Knicks basked in their first championship since 1973 after beating the San Antonio Spurs in five games in the 2026 NBA Finals. Hart kept circling back to the Las Vegas Aces coach’s December 2023 critique of Jalen Brunson. Hammon had said Brunson was not a “1A” player and that the Knicks couldn’t win a championship with the 6-foot-2 guard as their best player.
“If your best player is small, you’re not winning,” Hammon said at the time.
On ESPN’s Roommates Show at MSG, Hart returned to those remarks with the same blunt expectation: an apology.
He kicked things off by refusing to name her directly. “I’m not naming names: I’m still waiting for somebody––,” Hart said as the crowd chanted Hammon’s name.
“…to say they was wrong about someone who led our team to a championship…I know they have media availability so we’ll be waiting for that apology,” Hart finished.
Hart’s message wasn’t delivered in a vacuum. Brunson’s Finals run ended with Finals MVP honors for his work throughout the championship series against the Spurs—an outcome that, in Hart’s view, puts Hammon’s earlier assessment in the past-tense.
The Knicks’ celebration has plenty of weight behind it. New York returned to the mountaintop for the first time since 1973, claiming their third title in franchise history. Their 2026 journey included a 53-29 regular season record and the third seed in the East. In the playoffs. they went 16-3. including 13 straight wins that carried them back to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999.
Hart himself is riding the momentum. He completed the ninth season of his NBA career and his fourth with the Knicks, averaging 12 points, 7.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game across 66 appearances.
Looking ahead, the Knicks aren’t treating the season-ending moment like a pause button. New York will enter the offseason with plenty of security because it plans to retain its star core. Still, the team will look to address holes in the second unit through the draft and free agency.
For Hart, though, the offseason starts with one unfinished line: Hammon’s response.
As he said, she has media availability—so the question remains whether she will walk it back, formally, and admit that Brunson did exactly what she said he couldn’t.
Josh Hart Becky Hammon Jalen Brunson New York Knicks Las Vegas Aces NBA Finals 2026 Finals MVP San Antonio Spurs