You may not find Josh Hart’s pump-up song on mainstream radio, but the New York Knicks star said it provided all the motivation he needed as he prepared for the biggest game of his career.
The starting forward scored 13 points and grabbed 11 rebounds during New York’s 94-90 title-clinching victory over San Antonio – and then afterward said a Christian song helped him get into the right mindset.
The victory gave the Knicks their first NBA championship since 1973.
Asked this week in a television interview what song got him “pumped” before Game 5, Hart didn’t hesitate.
“For Christ Alone by 2819 Church,” Hart said, sitting alongside his teammates.
The song was released in April by 2819 Worship, a collective from 2819 Church in Atlanta that recently signed with Reach Records. It is a 13-minute worship song rooted in Matthew 24:30 and inspired by a sermon that founder and lead pastor Philip Anthony Mitchell preached on for several months.
The 31-year-old Hart, who joined the Knicks during the 2022-23 season, has been increasingly open about his faith in recent years.
In mid-May, with the Knicks in the middle of their historic playoff run, Hart posted a photo of himself on the bench with the caption: “For me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Last fall, Hart celebrated reports of growing interest in Christianity in the United States, sharing a news story about the trend on X/Twitter alongside a series of clapping emojis.
The first line of his Instagram bio reads, “Follower of Christ.”
Meanwhile, Hart embraced Christian singer Forrest Frank after Game 4 while Frank watched from courtside. When the Knicks captured the title days later, Frank praised Hart’s public faith, writing on Instagram: “It’s bigger than basketball – proud of you for giving all glory to God, my brother.”
Karl-Anthony Towns was also instrumental in New York’s championship run. He says a Bible verse has been a source of inspiration throughout his career.
Towns, who averaged 20.1 points and 11.9 rebounds per game this season, has frequently honored his late mother in postgame interviews. Jacqueline Cruz-Towns died in April 2020 from complications related to COVID-19. She was 58.
Speaking to ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt after the Knicks’ win in Game 2, Towns also pointed to the words of the Apostle Paul in Philippians 4:13 as a source of strength and inspiration.
“Other than losing a child, there’s nothing worse you could go through, and it builds you, it builds you up, and it strengthens you beyond measure,” Towns said of his mother’s passing. “That’s why I’ve got Philippians 4:13 and the date [of her passing] tattooed on my neck – ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.’
“That’s been my favorite Bible verse my whole entire life since I was little.”
“I didn’t know the significance [the verse] would have in my life when I became an adult, but what I do know is that I truly can do anything when I walk in faith, when I walk with the angels beside me – I feel anything is possible,” he said. “I feel nothing is impossible.”