Knicks' Josh Hart enters exclusive franchise club with Julius Randle, Walt Frazier after wild triple-double feat

Josh Hart has stepped up for the Knicks over the past few weeks, racking up stats at a near-unprecedented rate.

The New York Knicks have needed Josh Hart to step up amid injuries to a few of the team's key players, including Julius Randle, the man who made All-NBA Third Team last season, and OG Anunoby, the 3 and D extraordinaire that has elevated New York to a higher stratosphere of contending teams. Even with Anunoby returning to action on Tuesday against the Philadelphia 76ers, the Knicks still called upon Hart to play a huge role, asking him to be the team's de facto power forward.

Hart, however, surpassed any and all expectations on Tuesday, even with Anunoby expected to relieve him of some burden. The Knicks wing exploded for perhaps the best game of his career, putting up an eye-popping 20-point, 19-rebound, and 10-assist triple double in a 106-79 win over the 76ers.

And in so doing, Josh Hart etched his name deeper into the storied Knicks lore. According to the official team Twitter (X) account, Hart has become just the sixth player in franchise history to tally four or more triple-doubles in a season, joining Julius Randle, Walt Frazier, Micheal Ray Richardson, Jerry Lucas, and Richie Guerin in that exclusive club.

It's not too often that a stat-sheet stuffer of this caliber plies their trade for the Knicks; as StatMuse pointed out, Hart and Randle are the only players to tally four or more triple-doubles in a single season over the past 40 years.

Josh Hart has always been a relentless crasher of the boards, so it's not too surprising to see him rack up huge rebounding numbers as the team's nominal power forward. But his playmaking has been immense for the Knicks amid Julius Randle's absence, as the uptick in his counting stats have come over the past four weeks, helping the team put out fires caused by their injury woes.

Once Randle and Mitchell Robinson return, the Knicks will have an embarrassment of riches in the form of playoff-viable depth at every position. Hart will play such a crucial role in determining how far the Knicks go in the postseason; he is the quintessential glue guy, and if he makes his shots, his ability to contribute in many facets of the game would make him one of the team's most important players.