Former New York Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni spoke to SI.com's Jack McCallum recently, the first real public interview D'Antoni has done since resigning as Knicks coach during the middle of the 2012 NBA season. D'Antoni told McCallum that "resigning hurt. It hurt a lot. It still does."

Here is how D'Antoni described his decision to resign as Knicks' coach:

"I was in my car driving to shootaround and it just came to me. That's it. It's inevitable. I have to resign. We're not going anywhere. I made the decision then and there. I called Glen [Grunwald, the Knicks' general manager] and told him that I was coming in to do it. Then I called Laurel [his wife] to tell her. Glen called in Mr. Dolan [Knicks owner James Dolan] and I met them after shootaround and told them that I was resigning."

D'Antoni refused to delve into his relationship with Knick superstar Carmelo Anthony, or blame Anthony for his departure. "It came to the point that I had to resign, that's all. It was time. We weren't going anywhere and I was the coach," D'Antoni said.

-- Check out the full interview at SI.com