Nova Knicks Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart relive their secret one-on-one game
Brunson and Hart discuss their one-on-one experience on the pair’s podcast: “It got dark, and it was dark for me.”
Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson spent two seasons together at Villanova before reuniting on the New York Knicks. The two have shared a lot of memories together. Some good, like winning a national championship in 2016. And some bad, like heated one-on-ones.
On the recent episode of The Roommates Show, Hart and Brunson were joined by Ronnie Fieg, a clothing designer and owner of the brand Kith — who also made the Knicks’ 2023 city edition uniform. Last year, Fieg directed a video shoot featuring Hart and Brunson playing one-on-one to promote the gear.
“We needed it to be a competitive video between Jalen and Josh playing one-on-one and showcase the fact that they’re friends and they talk [expletive] to each other, kind of what you would expect from seeing two friends play ball,” Fieg said. “So we show up and I’m like, ‘Guys, I know you guys played together in the past but I’m going to need you guys to talk [expletive] to each other and make it competitive,’ and Jalen looks at me and goes, ‘Obviously.’
“Jalen starts playing one-on-one for real. So he keeps making shots and I don’t think Josh got possession for like 10 minutes in. Austin and I are looking at each other… like what do we do because it got heated between them two. And he’s looking at me like what do we do, we need Josh to look like he’s decent. I had to stop them in the middle and pull them both together like, ‘Yo, Jalen. You think you can let Josh score a couple baskets?’ ... But we made it look good.”
» READ MORE: Dawn Staley's best game day outfits, from pure style to Philly flair
Instead of denying the fact that he couldn’t stop Brunson, Hart admitted it wasn’t a fun experience for him.
“It was a lot to a little,” Hart said. “We played one-on-one. It was joking too, you know, so it wasn’t too serious. But it turned out really bad for me … It got dark, it was dark for me.”
Unlike Hart, Brunson enjoyed playing against his teammate.
“I was laughing the entire time,” Brunson said. “I was just like this is comedy at this point.”
When asked to guess the final score, Fieg responded “I would say 24-5,” with Brunson winning. But after watching the finished product — with a little bit of help from Fieg — it seemed a lot more competitive.