Jalen Brunson Stops Josh Hart From Photobombing ECF MVP Moment: Knicks Star Was Not Falling for It Twice
Jalen Brunson is the Eastern Conference Finals MVP, and he was not about to let his teammate ruin the moment.
As Brunson prepared for his on-court ESPN interview with Lisa Salters after the Knicks closed out the Cavaliers 130-93 in Game 4, his teammate Josh Hart hovered behind him. Brunson immediately turned, pointed, and told Hart to back up. Hart raised his arms in surrender and walked off camera with a grin on his face.
The clip went viral within minutes. The reason is hilarious.
The Goose Heard Around the NBA
Back in December, the Knicks won the NBA Cup. During Brunson’s interview after that win, Hart goosed his teammate from behind. Hart’s hand went somewhere Brunson did not want it. The moment instantly became one of the most replayed clips of the NBA season.
Brunson clearly remembered. With the Knicks now headed to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999, the stakes were much higher. The cameras were all on him. National television was rolling. No way was he giving Hart a chance to do it again.
“Jalen Brunson had flashbacks from the NBA Cup and told Josh Hart to back up while getting his ECF MVP trophy,” the Legion Hoops account posted with the clip. The reactions across social media were immediate and brutal for Hart.
Hart Is Going to Find a Way
The funniest part of this entire saga is that Hart is almost certainly going to try again. He is one of the most beloved trolls in the league, and he loves embarrassing his teammates in moments of glory.
The NBA Finals start June 3. If the Knicks win it all, Brunson is going to have to deal with cameras everywhere. The Larry O’Brien Trophy ceremony. The team parade. The endless postgame interviews. Hart will be lurking in every shot, looking for the perfect chance to strike again.
That is a much bigger stage than the NBA Cup. And Hart, who has 4.0 million Instagram followers and zero filter, lives for moments like this.
The Real Story Is the Sweep
The photobomb prevention is funny. The actual basketball story is even better for New York. The Knicks just dropped a 37-point road win to close out a sweep over a Cleveland team that won 64 games in the regular season. Brunson, Bridges, Anunoby, Karl-Anthony Towns and Hart himself have built something special.
This Knicks team is not playing around. They are also not letting one of their own ruin the celebration on camera. Jalen Brunson learned the lesson in December. He passed the test in May. Whether he survives Hart through a possible championship run is the next great question of the postseason.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
