“Looking at Private Jet Options”: Josh Hart Names Worst Christmas Day Game Slot, Shares Denver Story Involving JJ Redick

Christmas Day is the NBA’s marquee presentation. The league has made the holiday its own and reserves its biggest regular-season games for it. While it’s terrific for the fans, it’s a terrible experience for the players. Some have to travel thousands of miles to play, ensuring there’s no chance they make it back home in time to celebrate with their families, regardless of their best efforts to do so. Knicks star Josh Hart has experienced that Christmas agony alongside Lakers head coach JJ Redick.

In 2019, the forward, who was with the Pelicans back then, was over 1,200 miles away from his family on Christmas Day, as the team was in Denver to take on the Nuggets. After the game, he and his teammate, Redick, tried desperately to get back home but couldn’t, which shattered the latter. Hart recalled that night on the Roommates Show, saying,

“When it’s that late, depending on where you’re flying, sometimes you can’t leave after the game. So we weren’t able to leave after the game. We were teammates with JJ Redick and he had two little kids at the time, and we were just looking at like private jet options, we were like ‘We gotta get out.’ We ended up not doing it. JJ was like, ‘Brother I can’t do this.'”

However, their mutual sadness brought them close and the duo forged a friendship. They have remained good friends since. Their families have also gotten to know each other and Hart even took time out of his busy schedule to help Redick’s son Knox.

Josh Hart vs Knox Redick

Earlier last year, the retired guard, who was still working as an ESPN analyst, revealed that Hart and his Knicks teammate Jalen Brunson had been kind enough to travel to Brooklyn to meet his son, who was playing at the Brooklyn Basketball Academy.

Knox challenged Hart to a shooting contest, and the veteran forward gladly accepted. The rules were pretty simple. Both players would take two shots from five predetermined locations, similar to the NBA’s three-point contest at the All-Star Weekend. Hart lost and gave a hilarious excuse for it, saying,

“Body’s a little sore you know what I mean. Ay man, I was guarding Jamal Murray yesterday man. I dunked, first time in like 40 games.”

Great win by the Knicks. Josh Hart was huge. But what happens an 8 year old (Knox) challenges Josh to a 3 pt contest? pic.twitter.com/jxdWPMYEXP

— JJ Redick (@jj_redick) April 23, 2023

Hart’s Knicks and Redick’s Lakers are yet to lock horns this season. It’ll be interesting to see if the rookie head coach will use the forward’s loss to his 10-year-old son to throw him off his game.