Josh Hart can look at the rim when he shoots free throws. His wife, Shannon Hart, cannot.
Shannon opened up about the superstition before Game 5 of the NBA Finals, with the New York Knicks leading the San Antonio Spurs 3-1 and sitting one win from their first championship since 1973. In an exclusive interview with People, she said she now looks away whenever Josh steps to the line.
The habit started during Josh’s Villanova years. Shannon used to do “spirit fingers” while he shot free throws, then felt like the gesture stopped helping. One day, she looked away because she could not watch another miss.
Josh made the shot. The routine stuck.
Shannon Waits for the Crowd Before Looking Back
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Shannon told People she cannot look again until the ball has already left Josh’s hands. Instead of watching the shot, she listens to the arena and waits for the reaction.
That turns a routine free throw into a strange courtside guessing game. If the crowd sounds right, she knows he made it. If the sound drops or shifts, she knows the shot missed.
The superstition has followed her into the biggest games of Josh’s career. With the Knicks one win from a title, even one free throw can feel bigger than it should.
Game 4 Made One Lucky Item Hard to Leave Behind
Shannon also told People she planned to bring back a blue YSL purse she carried during the Knicks’ Game 4 comeback win. New York erased a 29-point deficit in that game and beat San Antonio 107-106.
She said she wanted to “run that back” after the purse was connected to the win. She also wears a cross necklace and adds pieces with Josh’s name into her game-day look.
Sports superstitions do not need much logic once a win is attached to them. A purse, a necklace, a seat, a routine, or a moment of looking away can become part of the night until something breaks the streak.
Ali Brunson Has Her Own Free-Throw Routine
Shannon is not the only Knicks wife with a ritual at the line. Jalen Brunson’s wife, Ali Brunson, told People she matches Jalen’s breathing while he shoots free throws.
Ali said she takes deep breaths as Jalen prepares to shoot. Shannon does the opposite with Josh: she removes the shot from her view completely.
The routines are different, but the feeling is the same. The players take the shots. Their families sit close enough to feel every possession and far enough away to have no control over it.
Shannon and Ali Have Been Part of the Finals Scene
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Shannon and Ali have become visible figures around the Knicks’ postseason run. People previously reported that both women have talked about keeping their families grounded while Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson chase a championship.
The two have also leaned into the Knicks’ orange-and-blue moment. Shannon told People her partnership with Reese’s Oreo made sense because the brand’s special blue-and-orange packaging matched the team colors she and Ali have been wearing during the series.
E! News also covered Shannon and Ali as part of the Madison Square Garden celebrity-row attention surrounding the Finals, where Knicks home games have drawn celebrities, families, and former players.