Josh Hart wanted to be drafted by Philadelphia 76ers / News - Basketnews.com

Hart was disappointed the 76ers didn't take him with the 25th pick in the 2017 draft and picked a European whose name he can't pronounce.

Credit: AP Photo/Peter K. Afriyie - Scanpix Credit AP Photo/Peter K. Afriyie - Scanpix

Josh Hart is one of the key players for the New York Knicks. The player himself initially wanted to be drafted by the team that the Knicks have to beat now - the Philadelphia 76ers.

Josh Hart

MIN:33.69PTS:9.69 (48.92%)REB:8.47As:4.05ST:0.93BL:0.3TO:1.48GM:83ProfileNBA2023/2024

Hart was selected by the Utah Jazz with the 30th pick in the 2017 NBA draft and then traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. He wished he'd been drafted five picks earlier.

"Yeah, I wanted to go here," Hart told Stefan Bondy from The New York Post. "They were at 25 and did a draft-and-stash, some European guy that I can't pronounce the name."

The 76ers picked Latvian big man Anzejs Pasecniks with the 25th pick that year.

"But yeah, this is the place I wanted to go. It was right down the street. But unfortunately, they felt like doing a draft-and-stash. Draft night, I was a little bummed that 25 came and I wasn't there," he said.

Hart played for Villanova in the NCAA, a college located in Philadelphia. With Villanova playing in the Wells Fargo Center, both the surroundings and the home venue would've been familiar for Hart.

"With the pedigree that we were coming in with, the discipline, the winning mentality that we had — so it was probably a little surprise," Hart said. "Us being right down the street, the pipeline is there. But they felt their organization wanted to go in a different direction."

Now, Hart has to play against the team he once wanted to be in. However, he's one of the best players in the series, averaging 21.5 points and a whopping 14 rebounds per game in the first two contests.

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