NEW YORK -- Rick Pitino doesn’t believe in hanging banners for NBA Cup titles and feels the Knicks are doing the right thing in not letting one fly at Madison Square Garden.
After defeating the San Antonio Spurs to win the NBA Cup Tuesday night in Las Vegas, Jalen Brunson and the Knicks opted not to hang a banner at the Garden. Instead, the team will recognize the achievement before Friday’s home game with the Philadelphia 76ers.
“That’s Madison Square Garden, ‘The World’s Most Famous Arena,’” Pitino, who coached the Knicks in the 1980s, said Thursday in response to a question from NJ Advance Media.
“For a tournament in Vegas, no, I would not hang a banner. I would congratulate them, say it’s awesome. It’s great winning the Cup, but that’s Madison Square Garden. We hang championships and we hang [banners honoring] legendary figures.”
Knicks coach Mike Brown said he was in favor of hanging a banner in “the most iconic arena in the league.”
But Charles Barkley called the NBA Cup “embarrassing” and Chris “Mad Dog” Russo called it an “inauthentic creation to jazz up the regular season.”
The Knicks and their fans hope the win is a precursor to the franchise’s first NBA championship since 1973.
“Oh, it definitely matters. Definitely matters,” Pitino said of the NBA Cup. “If we would have won the Battle of Atlantis or the Players [Era] tournament, we wouldn’t hang a batter here.
“But it’s very important as the Cup is very important. So I think that the players made a great decision in not doing that.”