New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson and Portland Trail Blazers forward Josh Hart are two of the most prominent college basketball players in recent memory. They will now be playing together in the NBA after the Knicks traded for Hart, leading to an awesome reaction from Brunson which is going viral on social media.
The Knicks and Trail Blazers agreed to a deal that caught Hart off guard while preparing for Wednesday’s game in Portland against the Golden State Warriors.
The trade very clearly caught Brunson off guard as well, who was actually visiting Villanova University for his jersey retirement when hearing about the move.
Immanuel Quickley is one of the Knicks players in attendance for Jalen Brunson’s Villanova jersey retirement. pic.twitter.com/Q4MlT7fyOC
— Daily Knicks (@DailyKnicksFS) February 9, 2023
A video reposted by ESPN on Twitter shows someone showing Brunson his phone, which was clearly the update of Hart being traded to New York.
Brunson quickly raised his hands in the air in excitement when discovering the news, screaming “Oh sh**, yes!” before presumably texting Hart about the situation.
Jalen Brunson found out he was reuniting with Villanova teammate Josh Hart moments after his college jersey was retired 💙
(via @Capj1344) pic.twitter.com/Qz0qvR3Z1s
— ESPN (@espn) February 9, 2023
The two played together at Villanova for two years, helping bring home a National Championship in the 2015-16 college basketball season.
Both have also become very successful NBA players, and seem to be very excited about reuniting at the NBA level.
Many took notice of this wholesome reaction from Brunson about being reunited with Hart and offered their take on the situation.
The literal exact moment that Jalen Brunson’s jersey was retired at Finneran Pavilion, the Josh Hart trade to the Knicks was made official. The two events occurred simultaneously.
— John Fanta (@John_Fanta) February 9, 2023
Jalen Brunson's reaction when he found out Josh Hart was traded to the Knicks is awesome 🙌pic.twitter.com/Op62ifpdpA
— FanDuel Sportsbook (@FDSportsbook) February 9, 2023
Jalen Brunson finding out that the #Knicks just traded for his former Villanova teammate, Josh Hart, as he's at Villanova to get his jersey retired is epic. https://t.co/b5mbvm68Bm
— Jake Asman (@JakeAsman) February 9, 2023
Jalen Brunson was at Villanova for his jersey retirement when he found out the Knicks traded for his college teammate Josh Hart
Safe to say Brunson is hyped @TalkinKnicks pic.twitter.com/JXQQELTh8d
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) February 9, 2023
This is amazing. Jalen Brunson finds out his college teammate Josh Hart is coming to the Knicks. https://t.co/GHTzxUa5tC
— Rex Chapman🏇🏼 (@RexChapman) February 9, 2023
It simply could not have been better timing for the Knicks to pull off this trade, as Brunson mentioned Hart in his speech while his jersey was being retired by Villanova.
Just watched Jalen Brunson getting his jersey retired at Nova, thanking his close friend Josh Hart, a minute before Hart was traded to the Knicks. #GoNova
— Andrew Brandt (@AndrewBrandt) February 9, 2023
Perhaps the only downside of this trade is that the Knicks actually traded another former Villanova player that both Hart and Brunson played with.
Knicks reserve guard and former Villanova standout Ryan Arcidiacono, who was actually on the 2015-16 championship team for Villanova will be heading to Portland in the Knicks trade package for Hart.
