New York Knicks guard Josh Hart recently received the NBA`s “minutes champion” trophy, an award given to the player who averaged the most playing time during the regular season. This particular honor doesn`t typically hold the same prestige as top awards like Most Valuable Player or Defensive Player of the Year.
True to his often-comedic nature, Hart seemed more amused than deeply honored by the prize. He shared a photo of the trophy on his Instagram story, captioning it “`Minutes champion?`” and adding laughing emojis. He lightheartedly commented, “`Guess I got my cardio in this year.`”
According to official statistics, Hart led all players this season, averaging 37.6 minutes per game while playing for the Knicks under head coach Tom Thibodeau.
He is the first New York Knick to finish as the NBA`s minutes champion since Julius Randle accomplished the feat in the 2020-21 season, also with an average of 37.6 minutes per game. Hart`s career average is 30.4 minutes, but his workload has been substantial, including averaging 37.25 minutes per game across the first four games of the Knicks` current playoff series against the Boston Celtics.
