Some Philadelphia fans on social media went wild after X’s Villanova basketball account I posted a congratulatory tweet He praised “our players” Jalen Brunson and Donte DiVincenzo for making the Knicks’ “two big threes that clinched the win in Game 2.”
Josh Hart, who was a teammate of those players on Villanova’s 2016 NCAA championship team and is now with the Knicks, said some people were outraged by the message, which was interpreted as dissing his hometown 76ers. He called them “fools.”
“Why? That’s really stupid. Villanova is in our blood, brother,” Hart said after the Knicks’ practice Wednesday in Tarrytown. “It’s a bond that goes deeper than where you’re from or who you root for. Like, we have a bond that goes beyond basketball, we have a bond that goes beyond anything.
“So I think it’s stupid for Philadelphia fans to get mad about that. That’s who we are. We’re a family. We played for the guys that came before us there, and that That’s the situation there. So I don’t care about that. I think it’s stupid for Philadelphia fans to get mad about it, because whether they like it or not, Villanova is ours. Because it’s in my blood.”
The Knicks improved to 2-0 in the first round and will face Philadelphia in Games 3 and 4 on Thursday and Sunday, respectively.
In fact, Villanova is about 40 miles from Philadelphia.
When informed of Philadelphia fans’ outrage over the Villanova program’s post, Brunson initially responded, “I don’t know what to say to that.”
But the two-time NCAA champion added: “In their eyes, we’re not a Philadelphia school, but if we win, apparently we are a Philadelphia school.”
