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Josh Hart is so strong that David West literally decided he’d rather retire than post Hart up again

We knew Josh Hart was strong, but apparently the second year guard is so stout that the “little mofo” made David West decide to hang it up.

Golden State Warriors v Los Angeles Lakers Photo by Harry How/Getty Images

Josh Hart has had an impressive training camp and preseason for the Los Angeles Lakers so far, fighting his way into a starting spot he looks set to keep after one game and even playing out of position at the four a bit. The latter wouldn’t be possible without Hart’s Hulk-like strength that allows him to stand up players far larger than him in the post, something former Golden State Warriors forward David West learned the hard way last season.

First a little context: Marc Spears of ESPN started things off by tweeting some praise for Hart, something that will surely become a lot more common if Hart continues his strong play into the regular season, when the LeBron James-led Lakers will be on national television plenty:

That was a nice compliment, but the one West followed it up with was even better:

You read that right: Josh Hart is so strong that 15-year NBA veteran, two-time NBA All-Star and two-time NBA champion David West tried to post him up twice and said “time to hang it up bruh.”

Yeah. At least he said it wasn’t personal.

That level of strength is so impressive that — now that it’s measurable in David West’s, the standard measurement of NBA strength — Silver Screen and Roll now has a list of other things that would retire if they tried to post up Josh Hart twice:

  • A semi truck
  • One of those trucks that tows semi trucks
  • A tank
  • Thor, the mythological Norse God of Thunder
  • Thor, the mythological Norse God of Thunder driving a tow truck that is towing a tank

That’s the list, and there is no arguing with it.

The other upshot of this is that the Lakers may have discovered a sustainable strategy for defensive success this season: Force players to post up Josh Hart, and watch them all retire. It worked on one Warrior, and maybe it’s the Lakers’ best shot to stop the rest of them.

You can follow Harrison on Twitter at @hmfaigen.

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