Jeremy Lin impresses Derek Jeter

TAMPA, Fla. — Call it another significant advance in the “Lin-nomena” gripping much of New York: The city’s undisputed sporting icon of the last 20 years weighing in on Jeremy Lin.

Or, at least weighing in when asked about the point guard by reporters, itself an achievement given how few people had even heard of Lin two weeks ago.

“I’ve seen some of the highlights,” Jeter said Monday after his workout at the Yankees’ minor-league complex. “It’s always fun. Anytime there’s a new athlete, especially in New York, people tend to get pretty excited about it. He’s brought some excitement to the Knicks.”

Jeter doesn’t follow basketball to the extent, say, teammate and avowed hoops junkie CC Sabathia does, but he’s certainly paid attention to the new phenom.

“He’s brought a lot of excitement to that team,” Jeter said. “Carmelo coming over, Stoudemire coming over, now you have him [Lin]. I haven’t watched their games enough  . . . I’m no basketball expert, but I know he has added a lot of excitement to the team, which is good. I think sports in general are a lot more fun when you have a team from New York that’s doing well."