Knicks’ Josh Hart, Mitchell Robinson Out For Season Opener

The New York Knicks ruled out Josh Hart and Mitchell Robinson ahead of Wednesday night’s 2025-26 season opener against the Cleveland Cavaliers. All-Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns was also listed as questionable with a right quad strain.

Knicks’ Josh Hart, Mitchell Robinson To Remain Sidelined

Hart, who is dealing with lumbar spasms, has been sidelined since playing seven minutes in the preseason opener against the Philadelphia 76ers in Abu Dhabi nearly three weeks ago.

Robinson, meanwhile, is listed out due to left ankle injury management. The 7-footer has been out since playing in the first half of New York’s preseason game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Oct. 9.

“Still the same,” Knicks coach Mike Brown told reporters after practice Tuesday. “Neither one practiced today, but we’re going to keep monitoring them, and I’ll get with the medical staff and we’ll see what we’re going to do.”

Per ESPN’s Tim Bontemps, Brown reiterated Robinson is not injured this time around.

Knicks’ Mitchell Robinson and Josh Hart are out for New York’s season opener against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday (7 pm ET, ESPN), sources said.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 21, 2025

The two-time NBA Coach of the Year noted that the former second-rounder has been out for “workload management” since the middle of last week.

“Really, it’s load management,” Brown said Tuesday. “Which means that, obviously, if we deemed it necessary, could he possibly go? Yeah, he could possibly go. He missed a lot of games last year, so we want to be cautious going forward with him. That’s about the extent of it right there.”

During the preseason, there was much debate on whether Brown would choose Robinson or Hart as the team’s fifth starter in the lineup. That conversation will now have to be put on hold.

Hart, 30, is entering his ninth NBA season after averaging 13.6 points and career highs of 9.6 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 1.5 steals, and 37.6 minutes in 77 games (all starts) of 2024-25.

The 27-year-old Robinson, who was limited to just 17 games (three starts) last season after missing the start of the campaign due to offseason ankle surgery, logged 5.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.1 blocks, and a career-low 17.1 minutes per contest.

Robinson is entering his eighth season.

Cavaliers To Play Without Darius Garland, Max Strus

On the other side, the Cavaliers will be without Darius Garland (toe) and Max Strus (foot) in Wednesday’s matchup. De’Andre Hunter was questionable with a right knee contusion.

In June, the Cavs said Garland would miss at least the next four months after undergoing surgery to repair his left big toe. He first suffered the injury on March 23 against the Utah Jazz.

Cleveland then announced in August that Strus underwent surgery to repair a Jones fracture in his left foot sustained during a workout and would miss three to four months.

His approximate recovery timeline means he’s expected to miss at least the first month of the 2025-26 season.