The New York Knicks rely on Josh Hart to do a whole lot of things on the basketball court.
An injury nearly stopped all of that, though. Hart’s got an ailment that could only be repaired by forcing him to retire from the NBA.
Hart, though, doesn’t want to be done playing basketball, so he’s instead going to play through the pain.
The Knicks start their season on Tuesday night as they raise their championship banner and get their rings. Hart will be out there as usual, likely with either a wrap or a brace on his right ring finger.
So he’s going to have to put that championship ring on his left hand. That’s the healthy one.
His right hand is just something he’s going to have to deal with for the rest of his career.
What’s Wrong With Josh Hart’s Finger?
Hart has what The Athletic’s Fred Katz terms a “jagged” right ring finger.
Katz describes it like this: “The fourth finger on Hart’s right hand looks like an M.C. Escher painting, one bone pointing in one direction, another veering in another with the top one at a diagonal again.”
Hart initially hurt that finger during the 2025 Eastern Conference Finals against the Indiana Pacers. He had surgery in the offseason.
He hurt it again, though, while guarding Mikal Bridges in a summer scrimmage not long after the surgery.
His plan, per Katz, was to wear protection on his finger for all of the 2025-26 season and then have another surgery.
Instead, doctors told Hart his only option would be to have a “full joint replacement” to repair his right ring finger, and that would end his career.
“You can’t have the banging, repetitive (motion),” Hart told Katz. “Grabbing a rebound, palming it, shooting, catching the ball, doing all that: You can’t do that. So, if I did a joint replacement, then I wouldn’t be able to play.”
Thus, Hart is sticking it out with pain.
Why Josh Hart Has Wrap on Right Ring Finger
Because Hart can’t undergo the surgery that would fix his finger, he has to at least keep it wrapped up or stabilized a bit when he plays.
It’s better than the alternative.
“I guess it’s either wrap it till I retire (or) cut it off,” Hart told Katz. “I guess that’s the other option. So that’s really the only alternative: either joint replacement, let it go, or amputation.”
Hart described to Katz that some days, it’s painful to even catch the ball, but that other days it’s just fine.
Despite that, Hart made 41% of his 3-pointers last season, a career-best.
Apparently he feels comfortable with a right ring finger that’s in pain. The good news is that it’s his finger, and it’s still attached, and that Hart can keep on playing the game he loves anyway.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
The post What’s Wrong With Josh Hart’s Finger? Why Knicks Star Has Right Ring Wrapped for Injury appeared first on HEAVY.