Josh Hart believes the San Antonio Spurs lost the mental battle before the NBA Finals even tipped off.
The New York Knicks forward spoke candidly about the Spurs this week during a live episode of the “Roomates” podcast in Madison Square Garden in Manhattan, N.Y. Hart recounted the Knicks’ early exit last season, when his squad was upset by the Indiana Pacers.
Hart claimed the Knicks had been so focused on beating the Boston Celtics last year and were on too much of a high after doing so in the conference semifinals. He felt the Spurs went through a “similar” experience in their 7-game series against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“Everyone’s talking to them about, ‘Yo, they’ve got to beat OKC. OKC’s going to repeat,'” Hart said of the Spurs.
“They beat OKC. For a young team, I feel like that was the mountaintop for them. looked at [Jalen Brunson] and was like, ‘You see that reaction? They think they’re going to win it. They think it’s over.”
"You see that reaction because they think they gon' win it. They think it's over."
— ESPN (@espn) June 20, 2026
Josh Hart spoke about the Knicks watching the Spurs celebrate after beating OKC 👀@Roommates__Show special episode from MSG | 10 ET on ESPN and the ESPN App 🗽 pic.twitter.com/Cg8VFpem6o
Hart compared that to the Knicks’ reaction (or lack thereof) after they beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in a 4-0 sweep of the Eastern Conference Finals. He noted that the team found it “hard to celebrate” because they maintained the mindset of needing four more wins.
The Knicks remembered what happened last season and refused to let up the “0-0” mindset even when they were already a game away from winning it all. Therein lies the value of playoff experience.
If the Spurs once again win the West next season, Wembanyama probably wouldn’t be weeping tears of joy like he was after beating the Thunder last month.
