Josh Hart’s recent rebounding stretch places him among the league’s best

He’s never the biggest player on the floor, but Knicks forward Josh Hart plays bigger than his size. The six-foot-four Hart has been a beast on the boards lately and has helped establish a Knicks culture centered around toughness since he was acquired in the middle of the 2022–23 season.

With a motor that never seems to quit, head coach Tom Thibodeau has put a lot of trust in Hart this season. Since Julius Randle and OG Anunoboy got hurt in the January 27 game against the Miami Heat, Hart has averaged nearly 41 minutes per game. Anunoboy has played in New York’s last two games, and Hart still played 39 and 42 minutes. Over this 20-game stretch, the former Villanova Wildcat has had four triple-doubles (the first four of his career) and has his fingerprints all over the game.

Rebounding:

Focusing more on rebounding, Hart’s recent play puts him among the NBA’s best glass cleaners. In his last 20 games, he’s had double-digit rebounds in 15 of those games. There are only nine players, including Hart, who have played in at least eight of their team’s last ten games and averaged at least 11 rebounds per game.

Over his last ten games, Hart has averaged 12.3 rebounds per game, tying him with two-time MVP Nikola Jokic. Only Jusuf Nurkic, Domantas Sabonis, and Anthony Davis have grabbed more rebounds in the last ten games than Josh Hart. The Knicks forward plays a ton of minutes, which makes his constant pursuit of rebounding even more impressive.

Rudy Gobert (27.6), Domantas Sabonis (25.8), Jusuf Nurkic (25.3), Anthony Davis (22), John Collins (20.1), Jalen Duren (19.9), Jarrett Allen (19.8), and Nikola Jokic (19.8) are all averaging more rebounding chances per game over Hart (19.4). If you broke it down into totals over the last ten games, Hart is sixth in total rebounding chances behind Sabonis, Nurkic, Gobert, Davis, and Allen. The 29-year-old is also the shortest player in the group he’s entered. Of the five players ahead of him in total rebounds over the last ten, Gobert (7’1), Nurkic (7’0), Davis (6’10), Sabonis (6’10), and Allen (6’9) are all significantly taller than the six-foot-four Hart.

The Knicks have been dealing with injuries since late January, but Josh Hart keeps chugging along. In 12 February games, he averaged 13.4 points, 10.3 rebounds, 5.2 assists, and 1.1 steals. He’s followed that up by averaging 13.7 points, 13.2 rebounds, 5.7 assists, and 1.5 steals in six March games. Hart has pulled in 79 total rebounds halfway through the third month of 2024. Precious Achiuwa is second on the Knicks with 48 total rebounds. New York has gone 4-2 to start March and finds themselves within striking distance of the Cleveland Cavaliers for the third seed, while also trying to fend off the Orlando Magic narrowly behind in fifth.

The Knicks will continue to need big efforts from Josh Hart as they push toward the 2024 playoffs.

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