Josh Hart clears air on viral bench incident with Jalen Brunson on Knicks: "I wasn't paying attention"
The New York Knicks' duo of Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson is one of the funniest pairing in the NBA. Since teaming up in 2023, the two have provided fans with plenty of hilarious content, even starting a podcast together. In a clip posted on X from their podcast, the "Roommates Show," on Thursday, Hart defended himself after accidentally leaving his left hand on Brunson's seat.
In their podcast, they have a segment called "Picture Me Scrollin," where they look at funny moments from the past week. One of the moments they saw was from their Oct. 15 preseason game against the Charlotte Hornets, in which neither Hart nor Brunson played, along with Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges.
As Brunson was headed to his seat, the former Villanova forward wasn't aware that he placed his hand on the seat. The All-Star guard didn't pay attention and sat on the bench while Hart's hand was resting on top. The Knicks forward took the chance to clear things up and explain what had happened.
"I wasn't paying attention and my hand was accidentally on - you can see I'm not paying attention, it was accidentally on JB's seat," Hart said.
"Mikal looked at me and said, 'Bro, there's something seriously wrong with you.' I'm like, 'Why?'"
Hart claimed that Brunson saw his hand on his seat, but ignored it and still sat on his chair. The moment between the two went viral among Knicks fans.
Josh Hart didn't enjoy playing against the Boston Celtics during their ring ceremony
The Knicks started their season against the Boston Celtics, who had their ring night ceremony on Tuesday. Josh Hart and the team didn't have the best night as most of them struggled to hang on with the Celtics and suffered a 132-109 loss. The forward played for 24 minutes and finished with 12 points, four rebounds and three assists.
Hart had a decent game, but other players had trouble scoring that night. Forward OG Anunoby finished with four points, five rebounds and three assists. Anunoby didn't shoot well, as he only made one shot out of his seven attempts.
Bridges also didn't have the best night. While he scored 16 points, it was a challenge for him as he shot poorly from beyond the arc. The two-way forward went 2-for-7 from the 3-point line.
In the podcast, Hart shared his honest thoughts on playing at ring night.
"It sucks... Playing on ring night sucks," he said. "First off, nothing in the NBA starts on time. It says 7:30, tip-off is going to be like 7:43... It's just like an extra 15 minutes. For them, obviously it's dope because they get their rings, the atmosphere, the environment is going to be crazy. But for the opposing team, it just sucks, you're just sitting there adding another 15-20 minutes to the warmup."
Hart talked about playing on ring night at the 00:45 second mark.
They look to bounce back tonight and get their first win of the season. They'll play against the Indiana Pacers, a team that defeated them in the Eastern Conference semifinals during the 2024 Playoffs.