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Jalen Brunson ’18 CLAS sat on a dais, covered in the spoils of victory—a new championship hat, the net from the basket into which he slipped nine points and confetti stuck to the underside of his sneakers. Minutes removed from winning Villanova’s second national championship in three years, he was asked to compare his experience as a freshman to what he felt now, a repeat champion as a junior. “It just shows,’’ he said in April 2018, “what can happen when you buy into thinking about team, and not yourself.’’

That is, to borrow a term from the team itself, an attitude that has long guided the program. And now that attitude has gone pro, with Brunson, Mikal Bridges ’18 CLAS and Josh Hart ’17 CLAS—dubbed the “Nova Knicks”—making up 60% of the starting lineup for the New York Knicks this season. They have brought their deep sense of unity to New York and the NBA, rejuvenating a dormant franchise back to its glory days. In the process, scores of Villanova fans have found a new team to root for, but a very familiar culture to rally behind.

Some 1,500 Villanova fans have flocked to Madison Square Garden to see their Knicks in action in the past two years. The Nova Knicks assemblage began in 2022, when Brunson signed with New York. A year later, Hart was traded from the Portland Trail Blazers and, in 2024, Bridges arrived from the Brooklyn Nets, cementing the trio's status. (For a time, Ryan Arcidiacono ’16 CLAS and former Villanova student-athlete Donte DiVincenzo were also on the roster.) Regional alumni clubs have hosted events in Atlanta, Phoenix, Dallas, Orlando, Washington, DC, southern Florida, northern New Jersey and Charlotte to greet the Nova players when they come to town.

Yet what’s perhaps most intriguing about the Nova Knicks as a phenomenon is that the appreciation for what the players stand for doesn’t stop with Villanovans. An entire new audience of basketball fans has been educated on Villanova’s hoops history—keyed into what some might call old-fashioned notions of sacrifice, camaraderie and hard work, but what the Nova Knicks consider modern necessities to success.

“We always would tell our guys, when you're here at Villanova, learn to be ‘all in,’’’ retired Villanova head coach Jay Wright says. “Be 100% a Villanova Basketball player and member of our community. When you leave, take whatever you want with you and add your own personal touch. But first learn what it is to be a Villanova Basketball player. I'm very impressed with how they all have taken our foundation and created their unique versions of themselves. We're all entertained by it, and we're proud of them.’’

That the players are successful on the court—all three rank among the Knicks’ top five scorers—is the driving force behind their popularity, but it is their obvious connectedness to one another that has brought news outlets, including GQ, ESPN, The Athletic and Sports Illustrated, around to try and understand what makes it all work.

It’s not really complicated. A quick listen to the Roommates Show, Hart and Brunson’s popular podcast, makes it abundantly clear. The two tease one another mercilessly and yet, as Hart said during a press conference, “We have a great friendship. We love each other. We’re like brothers.’’