The New York Knicks, fresh off their championship banner ceremony, are already 0-1 after dropping their season opener to LeBron James and the Philadelphia 76ers. But according to star Josh Hart, that 106-100 loss at Madison Square Garden means “literally nothing.” Talk about a bold take right after a tough L, especially with LeBron in town.
Defending Champs Fall Flat Early
Hart, ever the straight shooter, isn’t sweating the early stumble for the defending champs. “It’s Game 1. It means literally nothing,” he said Thursday, just after Tuesday’s opening night defeat. He figures the team shouldn’t be playing their best ball right out of the gate, warning it would be “a long season” if they were. Hart knows there are “a lot of mistakes that we have to clean up, that we have to learn from,” and he insists they’re “ready to fix those mistakes.” That’s the kind of attitude you need, but man, dropping the opener to your old playoff rival with a new superstar addition? That’s gotta sting a bit more than “nothing.”
LeBron and the Sixers Flip the Script
Let’s be real: this wasn’t the same Sixers team the Knicks swept in the second round of the 2026 playoffs on their way to the franchise’s first title since ’73. Philadelphia seriously upgraded this summer, adding none other than LeBron James and Jaylen Brown to the squad. And it showed. The defending champs looked way less dominant, especially after Karl-Anthony Towns ran into foul trouble early on opening night. The Knicks coughed up a halftime lead, shooting a dismal 37 percent from the field and just 33 percent from deep. Those numbers scream “we need to clean things up” way louder than “literally nothing.”
The Knicks get their next shot at their first win of the season Friday night, hitting the road to face the Boston Celtics. That road opener, kicking off at 7 p.m. ET at TD Garden, is going to be highlighted by a “bittersweet” reunion for Towns with former Knicks star Mitchell Robinson. So, sure, Game 1 might be “literally nothing” to Josh Hart, but Game 2 against Boston is absolutely everything if they want to get this title defense on track.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Bleacher Report.
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