National Basketball Association

Rick Pitino's phone number leaked after cameras catch him giving it out at Knicks game

Published Apr. 24, 2023 4:00 p.m. ET

Game 4 of the NBA Playoffs first-round series between the New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers brought several celebrities to Madison Square Garden, including a certain former Knicks coach — native New Yorker Rick Pitino, who has returned to Manhattan as the head men's basketball coach of nearby St. John's.

And like any college basketball coach of Pitino's stature, the 70-year-old former national champion did not miss a chance to network, giving out his phone number to someone else as he stood courtside during the game. Just one problem — television cameras saw him doing so, and lip-readers online quickly deciphered Pitino's personal mobile phone number.

Fortunately, this story has a positive ending. Yes, Pitino was inundated with messages, but according to the coach himself, they were overwhelmingly positive — and he even has a lead on some new recruits.

This will be far from the last time Pitino is caught on camera at Madison Square Garden. The coach said recently he wants to move all of St. Johns' home games to the iconic arena, a sharp increase from the portion of games which the Red Storm currently play there.

In the meantime, Pitino will likely keep making some time to watch his former NBA team face off against a Cleveland Cavaliers squad led by fellow New York native Donovan Mitchell, who Pitino coached at Louisville.

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