When Josh Hart is not busy playing basketball, he’s been portrayed as a self-proclaimed soccer fan. The New York Knicks guard is also extremely active on social media. After the men’s Argentina team took down England in the World Cup semifinal earlier this week, Hart was quick to draw a parallel between the Knicks championship team and Argentina.
“Argentina = Knicks,” Hart posted on X on Wednesday.
The prevailing thought was Hart saw similarities between the 2026 NBA champion Knicks and the defending World Cup champion Argentina team. As of Sunday night, Wednesday’s tweet had been viewed more than 4.4 million times.
Josh Hart Trolls Argentina Following World Cup Loss
Well, following Argentina’s 1-0 loss in overtime to Spain on Sunday, Hart decided it was time to update his original statement with a more definitive one. And all it took was two simple words.
“I lied,” Hart posted on his official X account (@joshhart).
Hart’s retweet, posted on Sunday at 8:25pm EDT, had been viewed at least 1.2 million times in just under four hours.
Soccer superstar and Argentina’s greatest player of all-time, Lionel Messi, fell just short of winning back-to-back World Cups on Sunday. The 39-year-old has presumably competed in his final World Cup of his storied career. Messi leaves the World Cup stage as the second-leading-scorer of all-time in World Cup play (21 goals).
For Hart and the Knicks to accomplish what Messi and Argentina couldn’t, the Knicks would have to repeat as NBA champions of the upcoming 2026-27 NBA season. To put Messi and Argentina’s attempt at history into perspective, no country has won consecutive World Cups since Brazil in 1958 and 1962.
Knicks Look to Win Back-to-Back Championships
The Knicks are in line to return the core of their roster that includes Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, and (Josh) Hart himself. This group will look to defend their title, becoming the first NBA team to do so since the Golden State Warriors in 2017 and 2018.
This past year, the Knicks finished in third place in the Eastern Conference during the regular season. They finished with a record of 53-29. After finding themselves down two games to one, trailing the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the playoffs, the Knicks went on a historic run.
The Knicks would win 13 straight games on their way to the franchise’s first NBA championship in 53 years. That winning streak now stands as the second-longest winning-streak in NBA playoff history.
Following their championship victory, their free agent additions have consisted of center, Andre Drummond as well as re-signing guards Landry Shamet, Jose Alvarado, Jordan Clarkson, and forward Mohamed Diawara. The major loss of the offseason from the championship roster has been center, Mitchell Robinson. Robinson signed with the Boston Celtics.
While the Knicks have extended an offer sheet to restricted free agent center Moussa Cisse, the Dallas Mavericks have matched their two-year, $4.7 million offer. The Knicks appear to still be on the search for Robinson’s replacement, who averaged 5.7 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game in 60 games played for the Knicks last season.
Josh Hart Makes Definitive Knicks Statement Following Argentina’s World Cup Final Loss