The New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers kicked off the 2025 NBA preseason on Thursday in Abu Dhabi, but the former franchise might be down a key player after their exhibition contest concludes.
With 10:29 remaining in the second quarter, Knicks forward Josh Hart fell in a heap towards the sideline after coming down with a rebound and pushing the pace. Hart then stayed down for a considerable amount of time before limping back to the locker room.
Hart was met with very little contact before suffering the injury, leading many to believe that it may have been a back issue.
"Josh Hart slipped and looks like twisted his back, down on the floor for a while and now limping to the locker room with help," Newsday Sports' Steve Popper shared via Twitter/X on Thursday afternoon.
After a wildly successful 2024-25 campaign that finished with Hart sustaining several crucial injuries, it appears as though the 30-year-old undersized forward's misfortune may have bled over into the new campaign.
Spanning 77 regular season appearances for the gritty wing in 2024-25, Hart contributed 13.6 points, 9.6 rebounds and 5.9 assists on a 57.9% effective field goal percentage. In the process, the incoming 9-year veteran partially led the Knicks to their first Eastern Conference Finals berth since 2000.
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Moving forward, it's likely that the Knicks will be cautious with Hart throughout the rest of the preseason due to his massive impact on both ends of the floor.
In an extremely rare do-or-die, championship-or-bust season for New York, the franchise will aim to keep all of their stars healthy and ready to contribute to a deep postseason run.
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