After suffering eight losing seasons in nine years the New York Knicks made one of their largest free-agent signings in franchise history by giving former Villanova Wildcat Jalen Brunson $104 million in the summer of 2022. Now two of his college teammates, Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo, also have joined him on the Knicks in the past six months.
Brunson was finally coming into his own in the NBA with the Dallas Mavericks the season prior to last and he has increased his point per game average each year he has been in the league. Heading into his fifth season, Brunson was given a massive opportunity to be the star of a team, the New York Knicks.
The Knicks finally had a glimpse of success two years before Brunson joined them but missed the 2022 NBA Playoffs before he got there. Enter Brunson and he immediately got this team back on track. During the regular season Brunson averaged a career-high 24 points per game this past season, eight higher than his next best season.
At the NBA trade deadline in February 2023 the Knicks needed to make a move to compete in the Eastern Conference Playoffs. That move was to bring in Brunson’s former college teammate, Josh Hart. The live reaction of Brunson to this news was memorable and caught on tape. He was ecstatic to say the least.
Hart and Brunson formed a nice backcourt for the Knicks moving forward as they went on to get the fifth seed in the East. They upset the fourth-seeded Cavaliers in the playoffs before losing to the eventual East champions, the Miami Heat. It was the franchise’s best finish since 2013.
When free agency hit after the season, Brunson and Hart’s old college teammate and former Golden State Warriors made it clear he wanted to team up with his old running mates. Donte DiVincenzo was an unrestricted free agent and set his sights on playing for the Knicks.
The New York Knicks were interested and made DiVincenzo their biggest free agent signing of the summer in 2023 with a deal for $47 million over four years. This trio was reunited and now will get to play together for the foreseeable future, hopefully bringing some of the winning they did in college to the Knicks.
At Villanova as a trio their team was a No. 1 seed in the 2017 NCAA Tournament. After Hart moved on to the NBA, Brunson and DiVincenzo went on to win the Tournament the very next season.
This summer it has been common to see Brunson and Hart comically going back and forth publicly on Twitter. There are sure to be constant jabs at Hart for leaving Villanova before their title win in 2018.
It should be fun to see these three back together on the court in a Knicks uniform and hopefully this time all three of them can win a title together in the NBA.
By Jack Stradley, I’m a sports writer always looking for a gripping story and a hot take.