The New York Knicks weren't exactly underdogs going into the NBA playoffs, but it would have been hard for anyone to predict just how dominant the Knicks were going to be throughout it, between their 13-game winning streak and the fact that they were able to overcome the San Antonio Spurs at all, let alone in just five games. 

Well, almost no one could have predicted it. 

Derrick Rose on the other hand, who was a Knick himself for three-and-half seasons across two stints with the team, was apparently more than confident in his old team. 

"I kind of had them winning almost the entire time. My son is a Jalen [Brunson] fan... I called Rick [Brunson] right before they got to the Finals that they was going to play against Wemby now and if they was gonna play against him that they was going to win," Rose said in an interview with Sports Illustrated.

Having a Brunson fan in your own house does help sway your favor toward the Knicks of course, but Rose also knows what it's like to play alongside Brunson and had a reasonable expectation of what the Knicks could be when pressed under the lights of the playoffs. 

Brunson also didn't disappoint Rose or his son. While the strength of the Knicks was that everyone on the roster could step up at different points when needed, which they did, Brunson consistently rose to the occasion as the Knicks' leading scorer and eventually the Finals MVP. 

The way that Brunson came up big for the Knicks time and time and again defined the underdog spirit of the team and kept them in big games when it seemed like they were about to be defeated time and time again. 

The comeback spirit of the Knicks and the clutch abilities of Brunson go hand-in-hand and with Rose's son's fandom of Brunson and Rose's own time spent playing alongside Brunson would have made that clear to Rose and could have helped inform his confidence in the team. 

After how massive the Knicks' success this past season, there will surely be a lot more people confident in the Knicks than just Rose and his family, and that confidence will be well justified as try to pursue another championship and become the next great dynasty in the NBA. 

Whether or not the Knicks are actually able to pull that feat remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: Rose will be watching the entire time.