The Los Angeles Lakers are part of history as their have been eight unique NBA Champions in the last eight seasons, which is the first time that has happened.
The most recent title was won by the New York Knicks as they defeated the San Antonio Spurs in a competitive five-game series to break a championship drought that lasted 53 years.
As is usually the case, Lakers legend Magic Johnson was locked into the series and took to social media to congratulate the Knicks and specifically Josh Hart, who he drafted to the purple and gold in 2017:
Congratulations to all of the @nyknicks players on winning an NBA World Championship! A special shoutout to the Knicks starting five: Finals MVP Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, and Josh Hart 👏🏾 Btw, Josh is one of the players I drafted in the first…
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) June 15, 2026
From France, I want to congratulate @nyknicks Owner James L. Dolan, my two friends President Leon Rose and Executive Vice President William Wesley (aka World Wide Wes), Head Coach Mike Brown, and his entire staff on winning the NBA World Championship!
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) June 15, 2026
Johnson’s tenure as president of basketball operations for the Lakers was an up-and-down one, but one of his best moves unquestionably was drafting Hart 30th overall out of Villanova.
Unfortunately, the Lakers needed to trade Hart just two years later as part of their package for Anthony Davis, but since then he has carved out an exceptional career as one of the best role players in the NBA. Players like Hart raise your ceiling if you’re looking to compete for a championship, and the Lakers will be looking for those type of pieces as they try to surround Luka Doncic with more talent this summer to compete.
LeBron James praises former Lakers teammate Josh Hart
LeBron James played with Hart on the Lakers for one season, and he recently gave the Knicks wing a lot of praise for his play this postseason.
“You got the wild card in Josh Hart, he’s like a wild card, he’s continued to get better and better,” James said on the latest episode of his Mind the Game podcast. “I was with him when he was young. I had the young Lake Show with him and Bi, and Lonzo, and Caruso, Zubac, I had the young guys. You just see Josh Hart continue to get better and better and better and he’s one of those few guys in our league that makes an impact and it doesn’t always have to be scoring.
“It’s the Draymond Green role where he gets you eight points, but it’s 12 rebounds. It’s seven assists. It’s diving for loose ball, the stuff that doesn’t show up in the box scores. It’s that competitive will, and if you disrespect him he can obviously make shots as well.”
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