“I wasn’t a Knicks fan.” – Josh Hart Opens Up for the First Time About Hating the New York Knicks as a Kid Because of His Older Brother

Some statements sound like nothing more than a casual remark at first, but once people hear the story behind them, they realize the meaning runs much deeper. When Josh Hart candidly said, “I wasn’t a Knicks fan growing up,” many fans were surprised. A player who now wears the New York Knicks jersey and who is loved by the New York fanbase once had no affection at all for the team.

Yet it was only in the final moments of the interview that Josh Hart shared the childhood memory that made everyone understand this was never just a simple story about liking or disliking a basketball team. Behind that choice was a brotherly relationship, family memories, and the way a child is shaped by the person he admires most.

Josh Hart Never Hid the Fact That He Did Not Grow Up Loving the New York Knicks

Unlike many players who like to say they dreamed of wearing their hometown colors from an early age, Josh Hart never built his story that way. He openly admitted that he was not a New York Knicks fan when he was a child.

That admission immediately drew attention because it stands in sharp contrast to who he is now. Since joining the Knicks, Josh Hart has become one of the most beloved players on the roster thanks to his relentless style of play, his willingness to do the dirty work, and his ability to bring energy to the entire team.

He is not the kind of player who always leads the scoring charts, but he is the kind of player every coach wants on the floor. He rebounds, defends, hustles, and sacrifices for the group. That is exactly why fans in New York have embraced him so strongly. So naturally, people wanted to know how a boy growing up in the New York area could end up not supporting the city’s most famous basketball team.

His Older Brother Shaped Josh Hart’s Early View of the Team

The answer, as it turned out, was very ordinary and very human. Josh Hart explained that his older brother did not like the New York Knicks. As the youngest child in the family, he was heavily influenced by whatever his brother liked or disliked. If his brother supported another team, Josh Hart followed suit. If his brother showed no affection for the Knicks, young Josh Hart simply accepted that as his own view too.

That is something many people can relate to. In families with siblings, younger children often look up to their older brothers or sisters as their first role models. From clothing choices to music taste to favorite sports teams, many early preferences are shaped not by personal conviction but by the influence of the people closest to them. For Josh Hart, disliking the New York Knicks began exactly that way.

Behind the Story of a Team Was a Childhood Memory

What made the interview so memorable was not simply the fact that Josh Hart once disliked the Knicks but the way he spoke about his childhood. When he looked back on those years, he did not focus on game results or NBA stars. Instead, his memories were tied to family, to his older brother, and to the everyday conversations that shaped his early life.

Those simple moments formed a child’s perspective. Fans often assume that professional athletes grow up with an unchanging love for the team they eventually join. But that is not always the case. For many players, a career path is built on opportunity, growth, and new experiences rather than childhood loyalty alone. Josh Hart is a clear example of that.

From a Kid Who Did Not Like the Knicks to One of the Team’s Most Loved Players

Looking at him now, it is hard to imagine that Josh Hart was once not a New York Knicks supporter. Since joining the team, he has quickly established himself through his high-energy style of play. He may not be the type of player who always dominates the box score, but he consistently shows up when the team needs him most.

His aggressive defense, fearless physicality, and willingness to put the team first have made Josh Hart exactly the kind of player any coach would love to have. More importantly, New York fans have always respected players who give everything they have on the court. That has helped close the gap between him and the crowd very quickly. Today, very few people care about which team he supported as a child. What they see is a player who gives his all every time he steps onto the floor.

Professional Sport Is Bigger Than Childhood Feelings

In elite sport, it is not unusual for players to grow up supporting one team and later become icons for another. Some even end up building brilliant careers with the very franchise they once did not care for.

That is part of what makes professional sport so compelling. People change over time. New experiences allow them to see things differently. A team that once meant nothing in childhood can become the place where some of the most meaningful memories of a career are made. For Josh Hart, the New York Knicks are no longer the team a young boy followed reluctantly because of his older brother’s influence. They are now the organization that trusts him, the fanbase that loves him, and the place where he has the chance to write some of the most important chapters of his career.

A Story That Makes Fans Feel Closer to Josh Hart

Perhaps the reason Josh Hart’s comments resonated so strongly is not because they were shocking, but because they were honest. He did not try to build a perfect image by claiming he had always loved the Knicks since childhood. Instead, he told the truth about what actually happened in his life. That honesty helps fans understand that professional athletes were once children too, shaped by family, influenced by those around them, and changed by the experiences that come later. In the end, the line “I wasn’t a Knicks fan“ no longer feels like a rejection of the team he now represents. It is simply a piece of his childhood, a memory tied to his older brother and the early years of his life.

And perhaps that is why the final moments of the interview were the most memorable. Fans did not just learn why Josh Hart once did not like the New York Knicks; they also came to understand that behind the story was always family, childhood, and the journey of a person growing into the player he is today. Those seemingly ordinary memories helped shape the modern Josh Hart: a player who gives everything for his team, puts the collective above himself, and has earned the affection of the very supporters he never imagined he would one day represent. 

Josh Hart Learned That Representing the New York Knicks Meant More Than Supporting Them

One of the most interesting parts of Josh Hart‘s story is how dramatically his perspective changed once basketball became more than a childhood pastime. As a professional, he quickly discovered that wearing the jersey of the New York Knicks carried a responsibility that had nothing to do with which team he had cheered for growing up.

Playing in New York is unlike playing almost anywhere else in the NBA. The expectations are enormous, the media attention is relentless, and every performance is analyzed in detail. For many players, adapting to that environment can be just as challenging as adjusting to a new system on the court.

Rather than being overwhelmed by those expectations, Josh Hart embraced them. His approach has never been centered on individual accolades or personal recognition. Instead, he built his reputation by doing the little things that often decide games but rarely dominate the headlines. Diving for loose balls, battling for rebounds against bigger opponents, making extra defensive rotations, and sacrificing personal statistics for the benefit of the team gradually earned him the trust of both his teammates and the fanbase.

That transformation says something important about professional sport. Childhood loyalties may influence where a person’s journey begins, but they rarely determine where it ends. Experience has a way of reshaping old opinions. Spending every day inside an organization allows players to appreciate its culture, its history, and the people who make it special in ways that outsiders never fully understand.

For Josh Hart, becoming part of the New York Knicks also meant experiencing the passion of one of basketball’s most demanding fan bases from the other side. Instead of viewing the organization through the opinions he had inherited as a child, he was now living the reality himself. He saw the commitment of the coaching staff, the work ethic inside the locker room, and the emotional investment of supporters who remained loyal through both difficult seasons and successful ones. That firsthand experience naturally replaced the assumptions he had carried as a boy. It did not erase his childhood memories with his older brother, nor did it change the fact that he once rooted against the Knicks. Instead, it added a new chapter to the story, proving that people are capable of growing beyond the beliefs they inherit when they are young.