Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Donte DiVincenzo Go Long Back: Villanova To NBA Teammates

Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, and Donte DiVincenzo entered the Wells Fargo Center’s basement press conference room together at 12:24 a.m. on Friday.

The group had just helped the New York Knicks win the Eastern Conference first-round series against the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 6 118-115. They scored the last nine points of the game at an arena they are familiar with after playing several home games at Villanova throughout their college careers, combining for a combined total of 80 points and 26 assists.

“Villanova in the house,” a reporter said.

“Say it again,” Brunson said.

“Villanova in the house,” the reporter repeated.

“One more time,” Brunson said.

Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Donte DiVincenzo Go Long Back: Villanova to NBA teammates

After joining the Knicks, former Villanova classmates Josh Hart, Donte DiVincenzo, and Jalen Brunson helped the team to its second-place finish in the East and its first 50-win campaign in more than ten years. The Knicks may make it back to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2000 with just one series victory left between them.

It’s nothing new for Brunson, Hart, and DiVincenzo to be winning at this level. They were national champions as college teammates long before they became the beating heart of an NBA title contender.

During the 2016–17 season, when the Villanova Wildcats went 32-4 overall, including 4-0 at Wells Fargo Center, and won the Big East Conference regular season and tournament crowns, they were teammates for one year. An NCAA tournament defeat in the second round marked the disappointing conclusion to that season. Nevertheless, Brunson shared national championships in 2016 with Hart and in 2018 with DiVincenzo.

As a junior, Hart was on the verge of becoming one of the finest wings in the nation. Daniel Ochefu and Ryan Arcidiacono were two of their senior commanders. A strong roster was completed by rookie Mikal Bridges, Phil Booth, and Kris Jenkins.

While DiVincenzo was forced to redshirt the remainder of the season due to an early-season foot ailment, Brunson made an immediate impression. DiVincenzo and Hart didn’t agree, but the rookie duo bonded right away.

They got back together this season after DiVincenzo inked a $50 million, four-year contract in July. Last year, Hart and Brunson were also members of the Knicks. DiVincenzo’s Milwaukee Bucks won an NBA championship in 2021, but Hart and Brunson haven’t been in an NBA Finals yet; they intend to do that this year.

Hart advanced to become the Big East Player of the Year and a finalist for the Wooden Award the following season. As the Wildcats’ second-leading scorer, Brunson took over, and DiVincenzo, who averaged 8.8 points in 25.5 minutes per game, was a vital member of the bench.

However, Hart and DiVincenzo remained at odds. Despite the tension and breaking point in their relationship, DiVincenzo signed a contract with the Knicks this past summer.

“Josh was just a bully. A playful bully,” he told ESPN.

Journey To NBA

Jalen Brunson

During the initial four years of his NBA career, Brunson was a jogging partner of Luka Doncic in Dallas. Despite Doncic missing a few games due to injury, Brunson had a breakthrough postseason in 2021–2022—averaging 21.6 points per game during the tournament.

During his 2022 free agency, Brunson chose to test the market and ended up signing a four-year, $104 million deal with the Knicks. Despite much criticism, the transaction ended up being one of the NBA’s finest values.

Josh Hart

Hart joined the Lakers in 2017–18 to start his career. Before becoming one of the main players traded in the sensational deal to acquire Anthony Davis from the Pelicans during the 2019 offseason, he spent two seasons as a player in Los Angeles.

Hart played for two and a half seasons in New Orleans before being dealt to the Trail Blazers before the 2022 trade deadline, along with CJ McCollum, to the Pelicans.

Hart joined the Trail Blazers at the start of the 2022–23 season and played the rest of the 2021–22 season with Portland. Upon joining forces with Brunson, Hart was moved to the Knicks at the 2023 trade deadline, a move that both of his old Villanova colleagues appreciated.

Donte DiVincenzo

The Bucks were DiVincenzo’s team for the first three years of his career. During their 2021 NBA championship season, he started all 66 games, although DiVincenzo missed all but three of the postseason run due to injury.

In order to acquire Serge Ibaka the next season, Milwaukee moved DiVincenzo to the Kings in a four-team deal. He played his last games of the season with Sacramento before joining the Warriors in free agency in 2022 for a one-year contract.

DiVincenzo signed a four-year, $46.9 million contract with New York this past summer to form the Nova Knicks.

 

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