Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart, former Villanova NCAA stars, are now Knicks playoff stars

In certain basketball circles, the video went viral. Jalen Brunson happened to be at Villanova getting his jersey retired in early February when NBA trade news leaked out — Josh Hart was joining his old ‘Nova teammate with the New York Knicks.

There was Brunson offering more emotion than he’s ever going to give you on the court. Shown the Hart news on a phone, his mouth dropped open, he let out an “Oh —” expletive, and grabbed his own phone out of his jacket. Confirmed. He raised his arms, screaming, “Yes!”

“I can’t say I was surprised, but I was intrigued by how ecstatic Jalen was when they got Josh,” Jay Wright said over the phone the other day. “It wasn’t just, this is one of my boys. He’s too business-like for that. It was more like, ‘We’re going to win.’”

That’s the way it’s played out. The Knicks have won their first NBA playoff series in a decade, led by Brunson, with Hart signing on for a crucial on-court role as hustle guy and defensive stopper.

For one of the NBA’s most consequential franchises, and a Big Apple signature entity, returning to prominence simply does not happen if the Knicks did not go after Brunson to run the show. The other day GQ did a list of athletes, asking, “Who is the King of New York Sports?”

Number two, Aaron Judge, New York Yankees. Number one, Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks. (Third, Mikal Bridges.)

“He’s always wired to be this kind of player, no matter what kind of team he was on,” Wright said, noting that Brunson was “smart enough” to play off star Luka Doncic in Dallas. “When it was needed, it was there. But he would do the little things.”

In some ways, that reminded Wright of when Brunson first got to Villanova. Ryan Arcidiacono was the guy, leading the Wildcats to the 2016 NCAA title. Brunson started, but he blended in, then took over as the leader the next two seasons, eventually being named consensus national player of the year as the Wildcats won the 2018 national title.

“He’s far more comfortable being the go-to guy,” Wright said. “He’s got the rare ability — some guys have a great ability to be a relentless scorer. But those relentless scorers aren’t always great decision-makers. He’s got that combination, to always be looking to score and always be making the right decision.”

» READ MORE: ‘Always a Wildcat’: Jalen Brunson’s efforts remembered, revived and retired into the rafters at Villanova

When Wright began ticking off names of current players who have that, from Steph Curry to LeBron James to Chris Paul to James Harden — he was basically talking about future Hall of Famers. Brunson, averaging 24 points a game this season, leading the Knicks in assists, obviously isn’t on that tier right now, but it’s fascinating to think about where he is after being drafted in the second round, 33rd overall, in 2018.

Brunson is not quite a unicorn. Denver’s Nikola Jokic was drafted 41st. But all the other leading scorers this season for playoff teams were first-round picks. All others except Miami’s Jimmy Butler were lottery picks.

“You know, thank God his dad was in the NBA, his family understood the way the NBA drafts,” Wright said. “They draft on analytics, on length, on athleticism. He wasn’t discouraged. He didn’t lose confidence because of it. You give the Mavs credit — they gave him a first-round draft choice’s contract. They knew they got a steal.”

There’s another player with a unique perspective on all this. Arcidiacono saw Brunson assimilate into his Villaova team. Fast-forward seven years, Arcidiacono already was with the Knicks when Brunson signed a four-year, $104 million deal. He showed up with the weight of expectations to be the man. Some Knicks fans were initially skeptical.

“What I saw up close, this dude is ready to lead our team,” Arcidiacono said. “He’s a difference-maker. … Meticulous worker, attention to detail, so advanced.”

Then the games start: “I’m going to beat you at what you do. If you watched Roger Federer play tennis, he’s like that, a silent assassin.”

This week, Yaron Weitzman wrote a piece for FoxSports.com on how the 6-foot-2 Brunson trained himself to get past taller and more athletic defenders who had taken away much of his offensive game in the 2021 playoffs.

“He has this incredible ability to find every nook and pounce as soon as you give it to him, even when going against longer defenders,” a former Mavericks assistant told Weitzman.

The leadership portion looks the same. There’s another video, Arcidiacono said, of the night of the Hart trade, “a private one,” after it turned out Arch himself was going to Portland as part of the four-team trade. Both understood this was just business, but there was sadness there, Brunson feeling it, expressing it.

“I’m still rooting for those guys,” Arcidiacono said.

Hart is now with his fourth NBA team. Not always a starter, often a finisher. The importance of Hart was obvious Wednesday during Game 5. Fourth quarter, out there the whole time, Hart didn’t get a single pass in the first 10 possessions, and just one in the first 15. He did save a ball from going out of bounds, and got another touch on an offensive rebound. His primary job was at the other end, guarding Cavs star Donovan Mitchell.

Seeing how Hart accepts his own current role, Wright said that goes way back too, remembering how they were recruiting another guy on his AAU team, but here was this kid Hart doing all this dirty work.

“He never gets the ball,” Wright remembers saying. “They’re winning because of this guy. What are we doing? We kept saying it, but we weren’t offering him. What are we doing?”

Against the Cavs, there were glimpses of trust. A couple of times in Game 5, Hart was open for a pass, Brunson saw it, but decided he had a better option. Hart simply moved to another spot on the floor.

Post-game, that’s different. A couple of those videos have gone a bit viral too. During the Knicks-Cavaliers playoff series, one social media account counted the number of handfuls of popcorn Hart stuffed in his mouth while Brunson talked next to him at a news conference. The count got to four before Brunson began laughing.

“You’re a child, dog,” Brunson said as Hart kept munching.

After the Knicks finished off the Cavs — pushing New York into the Eastern Conference semifinals against Miami, beginning Sunday — Hart was next to Brunson again, this time with chicken wings, deadpan eating as Brunson answered a question.

“Don’t do this again, Bro, just look forward,” Brunson said to Hart, “and just, stop.”

“I’m just eating — he’s asking you a question,” Hart said to Brunson. “What are you mad at me for?”

Hart grabbed another wing and turned his back to Brunson as the point guard talked about accountability within his team. Brunson held it together, continuing his answer, finally broke a bit, cracking a half smile as he tried to stifle a laugh.

With Miami up next, this means another Villanova guy from an earlier era, Kyle Lowry. Of course, there’s pride for Wright, talking about how his program was “blessed with really competitive people,” how maybe people are seeing a little more now why Villanova had such success.

But …

“I’d be lying if I told you it doesn’t concern me,” Wright said.

Of all Villanova’s recent players, Wright said, the three in this series are right at the top where natural competitiveness in practice or pickup games could go a little overboard.

“Like a parent watching three kids play in the backyard. Something could go wrong. Here, it was always a good thing. Now it’s on a national scale.”