'Doesn't Hurt!' Ex Coach Rick Pitino Backs New York Knicks, Names Jalen Brunson MVP

Back patrolling Madison Square Garden hardwood, Rick Pitino offered a ringing endorsement for his former employers, the New York Knicks.

Unlike their amateur roommates, the New York Knicks won't have to ait until a selection show to see if their on their way to a major basketball postseason event.

The Knicks' ongoing playoff run is sweeping the basketball nation and some have even labeled them a trendy NBA Finals pick after their recent run: New York has won four in a row, including a one-sided triumph over the league-leading Boston Celtics on Thursday night. That caught the attention of Rick Pitino, the former Knicks boss and lauded college basketball head coach who currently oversees the St. John's Red Storm men's program.

Apr 23, 2023; New York, New York, USA; St. John s Red Storm head coach Rick Pitino and Cleveland

Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

"I'm blown away with what the (Knicks) are accomplishing," praised Pitino in an X post. "(They have) teamwork, discipline, coaching, and an insatiable desire to win. Also doesn't hurt having this year's MVP! Go Knicks!"

Pitino is obviously referring to Jalen Brunson, who has helped the Knicks lock up their playoff spot in style.

The point guard has been on an absolute tear over the past six games, averaging 37.8 points and 8.8 assists as New York (49-32) has risen up the Eastern Conference standings. Brunson and the Knicks will finish no worse than fourth in the Eastern Conference and can finish as high as second if they beat Chicago on Sunday at Madison Square Garden (1 p.m. ET, MSG/ESPN) and Milwaukee falls to Orlando.

Pitino is back patrolling MSG hardwood after two years at the helm of the Knicks. Raised on Long Island, Pitino originally served as a Knicks assistant before taking the top job at Providence and returning for his two-year tenure at the top. He currently stands as the 10th-winningest coach in NCAA Division I men's basketball history and just wrapped his first season guiding the Red Storm.

Though St. John's, which shares the Garden as a part-time home with the Knicks, was controversially omitted from the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, it did manage to post its first 20-win season since 2018-19 and its first semifinal appearance in MSG's Big East Men's Basketball Tournament since 2000.