'Commanders, Holla at Me!' Josh Hart Lampoons Passing Blooper in Knicks' Win

Originally posted on New York Knicks on SI
By Geoff Magliocchetti | Last updated Jan 4, 2024 12:55 PM ET

There are ball drops ... New Year's Eve was less than a week ago, after all ... and then there was Josh Hart's misfire on Wednesday night.

The New York Knicks reserve seems destined for SportsCenter's "Not Top 10," ESPN's week-ending compilation of bloopers from the sports world after his egregious turnover against the Chicago Bulls. Upon entering the game just past the midway mark of the opening period, Hart took a rebound off an Ayo Dosunmu miss up the floor and attempted to hit Donte DiVincenzo in the corner.

Even if DiVincenzo's height rivaled that of big men Isaiah Hartenstein and Mitchell Robinson, attempting to grab it would've been futile: the attempted pass sailed several feet about DiVincenzo's head and several rows into the stands. Calling the game for ESPN, play-by-play man Ryan Ruocco called the toss the "deepest (he'd) ever seen a pass thrown in an NBA game."

Even Hart himself, trying to stifle his laughter, looked perplexed by his incomplete pass, which came with the Knicks leading 21-13 in the opening period.

Yo @Commanders holla at me pic.twitter.com/H46Yh2EYVI
— Josh Hart (@joshhart) January 4, 2024

To Hart's credit, he has had fun with his gaffe, even humorously trying to turn it into a new job opportunity: shortly after the game, Hart posted a photo of the game's participants superimposed on an NFL football field, complete with Hart making a plea to play quarterback for his favorite team, the Washington Commanders.

"Yo Commanders, holla at me," Hart declared. He added an extra caption when he posted the same image to his Instagram story, saying "**** it, (Julius Randle) down there somewhere."

Josh Hart with an absolute dime

pic.twitter.com/evqdjw7QFo
— Overtime (@overtime) January 4, 2024

In Hart's further defense, his single turnover was far from the Knicks' most glaring issue in the first half: New York briefly fell behind by double-figures thanks to a dozen turnovers over the first 24 minutes before recovering to lose only three in the latter stages. For his part, Hart put up five rebounds and three assists in a 116-100 victory headlined by dominant scoring efforts for Randle and Jalen Brunson.

The Commanders would perhaps be appreciative of Hart's arm: the franchise's problems finding a lasting quarterback have been well-documented, as the current team appears poised to move on from current man Sam Howell once this season wraps against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday afternoon.

Hart will be able to partake, as the Knicks (19-15) have a weekend back-to-back that begins on Friday against the Philadelphia 76ers (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG/ESPN).

This article first appeared on New York Knicks on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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