Knicks players Donte DiVincenzo and Josh Hart have a solid relationship now, but back in the fall of 2015 when they first met it was a different story.
When DiVincenzo arrived at Villanova in 2015, he became roommates with another Knicks star, Jalen Brunson and teammates with Hart.
ESPN says the reason Brunson and DiVincenzo “forged the foundation of a lifelong friendship” was because “Josh Hart was an incredibly annoying person”.
DiVincenzo himself confirmed this.
“Josh will tell you, I hated him,” The guard told ESPN. “A bunch of guys did. Jalen and I were best friends, and Jalen had to say, ‘Come on, he’s fine.’ But yes, that was our common bond.”
DiVincenzo recently revealed how much he hated Hart in those first two years at Villanova during an appearance on Brunson and Hart’s podcast The Roommates Show.
The NY guard admitted to swinging a ten pound weight at Hart after he made derogatory comments about him.
“I just blacked out during this moment,” Donte said. “I had a weight in my hand, and I was like, ‘Say it again and I’mma swing this at you.’
“And he was like, ‘No you won’t,” and said it again. And I swung the plate, and next thing you know I blacked out and we just started fighting in the weight room.”
On the podcast and to ESPN, no one would reveal the specifics of what was said to incite such a reaction from DiVincenzo.
But Brunson says, “The plate should have hit him with what Josh said”.
Despite the animosity between the pair, they managed to win a national championship with Nova in 2016.
Donte recalled that when he started playing against Hart in the NBA, he appreciated and got and understand him better.
The fact that Hart was on the Knicks roster didn’t affect Donte’s decision to sign with the team last offseason.
In fact, Hart even petitioned DiVincenzo come to New York.
Their story has come full circle, since Brunson, Hart and DiVincenzo have been some of the Knicks’ best scorers in their first-round playoff series against Philly – a series which they lead 2-0.