The NBA delivers unexpected friendships every season, but few have taken the spotlight quite like the budding bond between New York Knicks guard Josh Hart and veteran sixth man Jordan Clarkson. What started as some playful trash talk has quickly turned into the league’s newest, and arguably most entertaining buddy duo.
The moment that sparked it all went viral. During a heated matchup, Clarkson fouled out and, on his way to the bench, crumpled up Hart’s printed stat sheet and tossed it aside. The sequence could’ve sparked tension. Instead, it sparked laughter.
Hart, never shy when it comes to personality, tossed his headband right at Clarkson in response. The crowd cracked up. The broadcast team cracked up. And so did Clarkson.
“He’s always on me,” Clarkson said later, grinning as he recalled the moment. “He made me laugh. I was kind of upset, but he got me right.”
What’s followed is a surprising chemistry, not just as competitors, but as personalities who read the game and locker room vibes the same way.
Hart, known league-wide for hustle, rebounding from the guard spot, and never taking himself too seriously, has found a kind of comedic foil in Clarkson, the smooth-scoring spark plug whose confidence and looseness have defined his career.
Their stat lines this season don’t scream “headline duo” on paper. Clarkson is averaging 9.1 points per game in 16.3 minutes while shooting 44.8% from the field. Hart has chipped in 8.3 points and 6.9 rebounds across eight games, while making winning plays and filling gaps like only he can. But numbers aren’t what this connection is about.
It’s about joy. It’s about energy. It’s about two veterans who have seen enough NBA pressure to know when to breathe.
For a Knicks team grinding through a competitive Eastern Conference slate, that matters. Chemistry matters. Lightness matters.
And if the Knicks are going to build another postseason run, the bond between Josh Hart and Jordan Clarkson might be more than a great locker room clip.
It might be glue.
The buddy duo we didn’t know we needed might also be the one New York didn’t know it needed, either.
