Josh Hart is proving he’s much more than a Knicks accessory

Less than three months ago, Josh Hart was perplexed. Confused. “Lost,” in his words.

The Knicks had just dropped an exhibition game to the Wizards, and Hart, their pulse since Leon Rose acquired him in 2023, sounded exasperated as he tried to decipher his role in a new-look lineup. He managed just two points the entire preseason.

Maybe, he floated, a move to the bench could help.

It didn’t take long for any lingering anguishes to become abating worries and then fade altogether once the regular season arrived.

Hart, of course, remained a starter. He has missed just one game — Dec. 19, due to personal reasons — and ᴀssembled some of the best numbers of his career.

And after the Knicks’ 112-98 victory over the Raptors on Wednesday, when he collected 21 points, 11 rebounds and seven ᴀssists to finish just short of his team-leading fifth triple-double this year, Hart reiterated that he has embraced being a “servant” to the Knicks stars around him.

So even if his role in the spotlight doesn’t contain the same number of lumens as that of Jalen Brunson or Karl-Anthony Towns, the 29-year-old remains an integral part of the Knicks operation entering a rematch with the surging Thunder (30-6) on Friday at the Garden.

Hart has averaged 15.3 points, 11.3 rebounds and 6.0 ᴀssists per game since Dec. 21, and with season marks of 14.4 points and 9.1 rebounds per game, he, at the very least, will have a sH๏τ at averaging a double-double for the first time in his career.

“Off the court, I don’t know what he’s gonna say,” Towns said Wednesday. “And on the court, I don’t know what he’s gonna do. I think I’ve become the biggest fan of Josh Hart because I just don’t know what I’m gonna see from Josh Hart that night.”

Towns’ return from a one-game absence emerged as the dominating storyline against the Raptors, but Hart continued to jolt the Knicks at various points.

He dribbled out of the corner and threaded an extra pᴀss to a cutting Mikal Bridges for a basket.

He drove from the perimeter and finished a reverse layup while tumbling to the court.

He spotted OG Anunoby on the wing for a 3-pointer while a cluster of players crammed around him in the paint.

He snagged an offensive rebound in traffic and sparked a second-chance sequence eventually ending with a Towns 3, too.

Ask him about making the All-Star Game, though, and Hart will poke holes in his own candidacy by pointing out the “glitz and glamour” his game lacks, the need for other Knicks to earn nods, even the desire to just “have my toes touch some sand” on vacation during the break.

“To make sure JB and KAT are in the right situations and finding them when they’re open so they don’t gotta work so hard,” Hart said Wednesday. “To make sure Mikal and OG are playing well, getting open sH๏τs, getting good sH๏τs and making sure these guys reach their goal and their accomplishments and get All-Star love and those kinda things. So I think I’m most happy that those guys are playing well, and that’s something that I want to continue to do.”

So he’ll continue to bring the “energy” that head coach Tom Thibodeau described as a talent.

He’ll continue to get the rebounds, to chase the loose balls, to push the pace and help the Knicks operate with speed — which plays into the strength of the other four starters around him.

“He’s always there,” Towns said. “He’s always there when you need him.”

At some point, concerns about his role could pop up again — maybe not until next season, when that edition’s roster construction settles into place.

They materialized in 2023, when Hart said he felt “not included” as a sharp 3-point decline seeped into November.

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