Josh Hart has endeared himself to New York Knicks fans, players and coaches thanks to a willingness to do whatever he can to help the team win. He averaged 33 minutes per game during the regular season and is logging nearly 45 minutes a night during the team’s series against the Philadelphia 76ers. In those minutes he’s averaging 16.8 points and 12.8 rebounds per game, which is especially impressive when you consider Joel Embiid leads Philly with 9.0 rebounds per contest.
So how does Hart do it? How does he keep his engine humming while playing Tom Thibodeau minutes on the biggest stage? Why, he does what any normal person would do and loads up on candy and caffeine before games. Much to the chagrin of the team nutritionist.
People want to focus on Hart getting into arguments with the team nutritionist, but “I’m like let’s get ready to run around,” is the kind of motivational phrase that deserves to be stitched on a throw pillow.
Hart’s love of Mike and Ike has become a story of its own during the postseason. After a clip of him discovering some leftover candy in his pocket went viral, he revealed how much he loved the candy and how he hoped to have his picture on the box someday. That day was yesterday, as it turned out.
There’s clearly a blueprint for celebrities to get an unlimited supply of whatever they like, but there’s just something endearing about a professional athlete becoming so synonymous with a candy that a partnership becomes inevitable. Someone making tens of millions of dollars a year getting a lifetime supply of $2 boxes of candy shouldn’t seem so heartwarming, but when it happens organically, it’s actually kind of charming.
Now let’s get ready to run around.
