The Aporia · Knicks’ Josh Hart details gruesome reality of damaged finger

Knicks’ Josh Hart details gruesome reality of damaged finger

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APA MLA Chicago

Bondy, S. (2026, October 2). Knicks’ Josh Hart details gruesome reality of damaged finger. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/10/01/sports/knicks-josh-hart-details-gruesome-reality-of-damaged-finger/

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Quick Summary

Knicks player Josh Hart is continuing to play with a severely damaged finger, despite pain and deformation, because surgery options would end his career. He originally injured his right ring finger during the 2025 playoffs against the Celtics and aggravated it before last season, choosing to wear a brace rather than undergo joint replacement surgery that would prevent him from playing. Hart had the best shooting season of his career while wearing the brace but continues to experience varying levels of pain daily. Coach Mike Brown praised Hart’s toughness despite the finger's unsightly appearance.

Written by AI on 2026-10-02, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Josh Hart, a player for the New York Knicks, is dealing with severe damage to his right ring finger, an injury sustained during the 2025 playoffs against the Boston Celtics. Despite undergoing surgery after the initial injury and attempting to play through it before another surgery at the start of last season, Hart has found that the only viable option now is a full joint replacement, which would prevent him from playing basketball due to the repetitive stress on the finger.

As a result, Hart has decided to continue playing with his damaged finger rather than undergo the joint replacement surgery. He described it as either wrapping up until he retires or essentially cutting off the finger, emphasizing that continuing without surgery means enduring significant pain and an unsightly appearance of his finger. Despite this, Hart had one of his best shooting seasons in 2023-24, hitting 41.3% from three-point range while wearing a finger brace.

Written for “Knicks Player Injury Details” on 2026-11-05, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

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Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

2 of 26 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

not political

takes no side on a contested political question

Publisher signals

66/100

New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

Outlets on this story

Sports

Same framing elsewhere

articles that frame the event the way this one does

Who wrote this

Stefan Bondy

41 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

🔮 And his shot will come eventually.

2026-11-03 · assertive framing · Slow-starting Mikal Bridges benched during Knicks fourth-quarter comeback

🔮 But the Knicks couldn’t make it happen.

2026-10-31 · assertive framing · Jalen Brunson fails to deliver in the clutch as Knicks fall short in NBA Cup opener to 76ers

🔮 CHICAGO — The Knicks will start their secondary title defense like they began their primary — against LeBron and the 76ers.

2026-10-30 · assertive framing · Knicks begin NBA Cup title defense with shot at revenge against LeBron James, 76ers

🔮 Jalen Williams, a foundational piece in Oklahoma City, dislocated his ankle and fractured his fibula.

2026-10-29 · mixed framing · The NBA curse the Knicks have sidestepped into sustained contention

🔮 Assistant coach Chris Jent will be away from the team for an undisclosed period of time for personal reasons, The Post has learned.

2026-10-27 · assertive framing · Knicks assistant Chris Jent to miss time due to personal reasons

🔮 Brown said Drummond will remain the first backup in Tuesday’s game against the Pistons.

2026-10-26 · assertive framing · Knicks’ Andre Drummond bristles after being benched for lack of effort

🔮 Those will eventually fall.

2026-10-24 · assertive framing · Mike Brown calls out Knicks’ lack of physicality amid ugly 0-2 start

🔮 It’s only No. 33 for Ewing, No. 15 for Dick McGuire and a lot of champions — the combined starting lineups of 1970 and 1973, plus the coach: No. 10 Walt Frazier, No. 19 Willis Reed, No. 12 Dick Barnett, No. 22 Dave DeBusschere, No. 24 Bill Bradley, No. 613 for Red Holzman’s career victories.

2026-10-20 · assertive framing · Which current Knicks will join their title banner in the Garden rafters?

🔮 New York Post may be compensated and/or receive an affiliate commission if you buy something through our links.

2026-10-16 · assertive framing · Knicks have plenty of repeat doubters NBA survey shows

🔮 Coach Mike Brown said he would revisit Towns as the hub this season and Thursday’s evidence was on display early.

2026-10-16 · assertive framing · Karl-Anthony Towns doesn’t miss a beat in return to Knicks playoff-like form

Also by Stefan Bondy

Slow-starting Mikal Bridges benched during Knicks fourth-quarter comeback

2026-11-03 · New York Post

Jalen Brunson fails to deliver in the clutch as Knicks fall short in NBA Cup opener to 76ers

2026-10-31 · New York Post

Knicks begin NBA Cup title defense with shot at revenge against LeBron James, 76ers

2026-10-30 · New York Post

The NBA curse the Knicks have sidestepped into sustained contention

2026-10-29 · New York Post

Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 41 articles by Stefan Bondy →

Claims (26 extracted, 2 hedged)

Josh Hart is sticking with his mangled finger because the alternatives are terrible. asserted

alternatives → stick → finger

“The only option for my finger at this point, because of how damaged it is, is a full joint replacement, and I can’t play with the joint replacement,” Hart revealed Thursday. asserted

Hart → play → replacement

“You can’t have the repetitive banging after joint replacement, grabbing a rebound, palming it, shooting, catching the ball, doing all that; you can’t do that. asserted

you → have → that

“So if I did a joint replacement, then I wouldn’t be able to play. asserted

I → do → replacement

So I guess it’s either wrap it up until I retire or cut it off.” asserted

I → guess → it

Hart first injured that right ring finger during the 2025 playoffs, when he busted it in the second round against the Celtics. asserted

he → injure → Celtics

He underwent surgery but aggravated it before the start of last season. asserted

He → undergo → season

At the time, Hart thought he could play through the pain — and endure the misshapenness of his finger — before correcting it with a second surgery. uncertain

he → think → surgery

Apparently, the damage was irreversible without joint replacement surgery, and Hart enjoyed the best shooting season of his career while wearing a finger brace. asserted

Hart → enjoy → brace

“It’s not the prettiest to look at, and I would love to have a straight finger,” said Hart, who knocked down 41.3 percent of his treys last season. asserted

who → ’ → treys

“But it works.” asserted

it → work → ?

Still, the pain persists. asserted

pain → persist → ?

Some days, it’ll hurt to catch the ball,” Hart said. asserted

Hart → hurt → ball

“It just varies. asserted

It → vary → ?

I wish I could tell you when I wake up whether it’s gonna be good or bad. uncertain

it → wish → you

Some days, it’s like a regular functioning finger. asserted

it → ’ → finger

And other days, it hurts to just close my hand, to make a fist.” asserted

it → hurt → fist

Coach Mike Brown lauded Hart’s toughness while noting the finger is not aesthetically pleasing. asserted

finger → laud → toughness

What’s happening on and off the Garden court Sign up for Inside the Knicks by Stefan Bondy, a weekly exclusive on Sports+. asserted

happening → happen → Sports+

Josh, he’s a handsome young man. asserted

he → ’ → ?

But that finger is ugly,” Brown said. asserted

Brown → say → ?

But it adds to its toughness. asserted

it → add → toughness

You know, Josh is a tough son of a b—h, man; tough. asserted

Josh → know → man

I can’t imagine having a finger like that. asserted

I → imagine → that

But it just shows who he is.” Brown said the plan is to “ease in” the starters during preseason before using the finale (Oct. 15 hosting the Raptors) as a dress rehearsal. “We’ll try to build them up leading to that game,” Brown said. asserted

Brown → show → game

In other words: Don’t expect the starters to play much in the preseason opener Monday in Philadelphia. asserted

starters → expect → Philadelphia

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Articles to 5 Nov 2026

Knicks’ Josh Hart details gruesome reality of damaged finger

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Claims (26 extracted, 2 hedged)