Player Facts
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 215lbs.
Date of Birth: Mar. 6, 1995
College Experience: Villanova (4 years)
Selections
All Star: 0
All-NBA: 0
All-Defensive: 0
Player Grades
Speed/Explosiveness: 8
Physical Strength: 9
Positional Size: 4
Positional Wingspan: 5
Paint Scoring: 8
Midrange Scoring: 4
Three-Point Scoring: 5
Dribbling: 6
Passing: 5
Perimeter Defense: 8
Interior Defense: 6
Rebounding: 9
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STRENGTHS
Intro
Josh Hart is a smart, scrappy, team-first basketball player whose contributions are spread to various areas. Most notably, he's a strong driver off the catch, a solid team defender, and an elite rebounder at his position. Hart also brings great strength and other functional measurables.
Decisive Dribble Drives
As preached in Jay Wright's motion offense at Villanova, Josh is a quick decision-maker on the catch. This allows him to be quick and effective when the ball is swung his way. He selects between shooting, passing, or dribble driving with remarkable pace.
Josh is a high-level attacker against the fly-by. His jumper is can be just concerning enough for defenders to close the space overly tightly, giving way to the blow-by. Similar to dense slashers like RJ Barrett or Jaylen Brown, Hart rarely gets veered off his linear driving path.
Passing & Paint-Piercing
The former Wildcat is good at getting to a powerful jump stop in the lane before rising up under control. This underutilized move also gives him a spell to scan for lay-down or kick-out opportunities after he's caused defenders to converge.
Josh's passing ability can get overlooked at times – he is evidently not a selfish player. He's posted positive AST/TO marks in all of his first four seasons. He is a strong connective tissue passer as well, making that "one more" or extra pass that can lead to an even cleaner look for a teammate.
Hart has finished over 63% of his rim looks each and every NBA season thus far (as of 2023-2024). He does a great job of neutralizing the shot-blocker by throwing his body into theirs. The 215-pound frame aids his efforts in this area too.
Off-Ball Vigor
Being an NCAA player under the tutelage of Jay Wright can tremendously help a young player round out their off-ball game. Whether it's the principle of shooting immediately and with purpose, to preaching consistent off-ball movement, this system breeds players that can be effective away from the play.
Josh is a great cutter. He picks his spots for when to slice in on a teammate's take, or alternatively when to flash into the soft spot of a zone defense. Josh reacts quickly to swiveling opponent heads.
Playing with Jalen Brunson, Donte DiVincenzo, and Julius Randle, Hart is often called upon to be a cutter, floor-spacer, and glass-crasher. He has become a phenomenal offensive rebounder at 6-foot-4. He finished 16th in the NBA in total rebounds grabbed in 2023-2024; many being offensive.
His jumper is prone to streakiness, though he has shown he can knock down the mildly open triple. After a rookie season shooting just under 40% from deep, he now regularly oscillates around league average.
Coast-to-Coast Scoring
Hart is a good guard to have within an up-and-down offensive style. Whether he sparks it with a rake-and-take or is capping off the break, he loves the lateral space-eating middle gather lateral Eurostep. His 3.7 transition points a night as a Blazer in 2022-2023 edged Malik Monk, Bam Adebayo, and Immanuel Quickley.
Guard/Wing Defense
On the ball, his defense is solid and multi-positional. He gets low in his stance, looking to contain and contest. Josh's defensive duties were quite evenly split in 2023-2024 – 51.5% of his time on forwards, and 41.9% on guards.
Post D & Help Instincts
A musclebound frame, diligent body-angling, and a high compete level allow him to be serviceable for spells defending taller post players. He completed 2020-2021 in the 87th percentile defending post-ups. At 6-foot-4, that's no small feat.
The Villanova product can give well-timed help, from digs as players turn their back, to other blindside swarms. He has solid length in the form of a near 6-9 reach, propping up his defensive playmaking abilities. Josh could be more of a difference-maker in the turnover-forcing department, but he is more of a principled, astute team defender rather than a gamble-heavy one.
Plus-Plus Positional Rebounding
One of Hart's most notable areas of surplus defensive value relative to his position is on the boards. He has a knack for the ball, ferociously attacking it off the rim and using his bounce to get up there. The elite motor, instinct, and spatial awareness, make up for any lack of size.
WEAKNESSES
Absent In-Between Game
Josh rarely uses the midrange, nor is he a very accurate shooter from there when he does. He was only. A combined 18 of 63 on two-point jump shots, when combining his 2018-2019, 2019-2020, and 2020-2021 seasons. The problems have persisted into his Knicks tenure. Runners and floaters are a similarly infrequent ingredient in his shot chart.
Flimsy Shot Creation
Hart is also not much of a self-creator on offense. By offensive system design, he only averaged 0.9 pick-and-roll ball-handler and 0.4 DHO-recipient possessions per game in 2023-2024. His free throw rate is kept respectable by virtue of his rebounding and off-the-catch slashing though.
3pt Streakiness
He would become an even more robust away-from-the-player cog if he could regain his age-22 season 3pt form. 32.8% on 2023-2024 catch-and-shoots from distance is subpar for a role-playing swingman.
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Players Appearing Here – Check Out Their Profiles
- RJ Barrett [Coming Soon]Opens in a new tab
- Jaylen Brown [PATREON]Opens in a new tab
- Jalen Brunson [Coming Soon]Opens in a new tab
- Donte DiVincenzo [Coming Soon]Opens in a new tab
- Julius Randle [PATREON]Opens in a new tab
- Malik MonkOpens in a new tab
- Bam Adebayo [Coming Soon]Opens in a new tab
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