New York Knicks forward Josh Hart is catching heat from NBA fans after making a bold—and some say ridiculous—claim about the San Antonio Spurs during a live episode of his podcast.
Hart and Jalen Brunson hosted a special edition of The Roommates Show at Madison Square Garden Friday night, and the conversation quickly turned to their 2026 NBA Finals victory over the Spurs. Hart told the crowd he knew early on that San Antonio would be vulnerable—because of how they celebrated after beating the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals.
“They beat OKC and that was a mountaintop for them,” Hart said. “I looked at JB [Jalen Brunson] and I was like, ‘You see that reaction because they think they’re going to win it. They think it’s over.’ And then you look at our reaction after beating Cleveland. It was tough to celebrate because we got four more [wins].”
But NBA fans weren’t having it. Social media lit up with criticism, with many calling the take unfair to a young Spurs team making their first Finals appearance.
“Or maybe they are 20-22 years old and are very emotional about making the NBA Finals for the first time because they love the game so much? The way some want to paint the worst picture for their narratives is ridiculous,” one fan wrote.
Another replied, “This has always been [expletive]. The Knicks had no reaction because they clinched their ticket to the Finals by beating down a lifeless and quitting Cavs team.”
A third added, “This is a ridiculous assumption about a team led by a 22yo, 21yo and 20yo making their very first NBA Finals.”
One Spurs fan summed it up: “Mind you it was their first playoff run and they made it to the finals. They’re literally kids playing a game they love and they’re passionate. This nonchalant gimmick sucks and the Knicks won’t see another chip for 50 years so save it.”
Despite the criticism, the Spurs themselves have acknowledged the lessons learned. Victor Wembanyama, 22, said the Finals exposed just how thin the margin for error is at that level.
“One of many things I learned is the margin of error was very, very thin,” Wembanyama said. “Our domination stints — we absolutely dominated for most of this series. But our errors, our mistakes are punished so hard that we can’t have ups and downs like this so much. The ups are OK. The downs is the reason we lost.”
If the Spurs can clean up those fourth-quarter miscues, there’s no reason they can’t get back to the Finals. Meanwhile, the Knicks are enjoying their title run, and Hart’s comments have only added fuel to the Spurs' offseason narrative. And with fans already calling for Hart to skip the White House trip, this latest controversy isn't helping his reputation.
