Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, Jalen Bruson, Donte DiVincenzo React to ‘Villanova Knicks’ in New York

The New York Knicks — fresh off a 2023-24 season in which they went 50-32, earned the No. 2 seed in the East, and went to the Eastern Conference Semifinals — just got better. A lot better.

The Knicks agreed to a trade with the Brooklyn Nets that brought star forward Mikal Bridges to New York, sending a haul of picks back to Brooklyn.

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Brooklyn then agreed to a second trade to officially enter their rebuild.

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This Brooklyn/New York trade was especially noteworthy as it didn’t only bring another star player to New York — it also reunited four college teammates.

The Knicks were famously dubbed the “Villanova Knicks” this year due to the emergence of Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, and Donte DiVincenzo. All three players were crucial to the Knicks’ dominance this season, both due to their play and chemistry.

Why was their chemistry so good? Well, the three of them played together at Villanova in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons. They helped Villanova win the NCAA National Title in 2016.

While the three of them were living it up together in New York, another member of that Villanova team was wasting away on a struggling Brooklyn team.

Bridges was also at Villanova from 2015-18, and was a part of Villanova’s championship team alongside the three Knicks’ players. There were rumors all year about Bridges joining the Knicks to complete the Villanova squad, however, the Nets appeared to hold firm on wanting to hold onto the two-way star.

The Knicks were able to entice the Nets with a huge package, though, and have now completed the “Villanova Knicks” — and the players could not be happier.

First, Hart posted a simple message on his X page: “YO WE F****** LIT.”

Then, Bridges had an even simpler message a few minutes later on his X page: “This is crazy lol.”

Brunson had the simplest message of the bunch two minutes after Bridges, saying “Omg” on his X page.

Miami Heat star big man Bam Adebayo even got in on the fun, calling Hart and Brunson out for tampering.

Then, about an hour after the trade details were revealed, Hart posted a screenshot of the four now-teammates group facetiming — with a lot of happy faces.

The 2023-24 Knicks took the league by storm, and on the eve of the 2024 NBA Draft, they just got better. And more importantly, they reunited four close friends who will look to relive their college glory days and bring a championship back to New York for the first time since 1973.