There were plenty of roar-inducing moments inside Madison Square Garden when the Knicks faced the Miami Heat in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals this month: when Jalen Brunson hit a 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter, causing a timeout outside the Heat, or anyone else. of the five times RJ Barrett hit a 3, driving Garden Knicks fans crazy.
But the loudest roar that night came during a game interruption when a large video screen showed Carmelo Anthony sitting courtside. Anthony stood with one hand raised as most of the fans gave him a standing ovation, showering him with applause and cheers as if he had just made a game-winning shot.
Anthony has never won a title for the Knicks or reached a conference finals in his 6 1/2 seasons with the team, but the moment was a reminder of how much he still means to New York. The city had longed for a star after years of mediocrity and got one in Anthony, a Brooklyn native ready to make Knicks games exciting again.
When Anthony announced his retirement Monday, many fans began to wonder when the Knicks would retire the No. 7 he wore while playing for the team.
“New York is the kind of place that will melt you if you’re not prepared,” said rapper Chuck D, who grew up on Long Island and co-founded the rap group Public Enemy. “But Melo came in and danced with the pressure of New York.”
He added: “Most of the ballplayers in New York, they don’t come from New York. So he brought a New York state of mind to a place that didn’t really have the players who knew how to adapt to it. So we will always love Melo for that.”
The Denver Nuggets selected Anthony third overall in the draft out of Syracuse in 2003 after he led the school to an NCAA Division I national championship. In Denver, Anthony quickly established himself as one of the best players in the league.
At 6-foot-7 and around 240 pounds, Anthony was known for his 3-point prowess and clever footwork. In attack, he made moves in the high and low posts, outpacing smaller guards and forwards while having the speed to outplay defenders.
But all of Anthony’s offensive success didn’t translate to much in the postseason for the Nuggets. In 7 1/2 seasons, Anthony’s teams reached the conference finals just once, and he lobbied the Nuggets to trade him to New York in 2011 in a deal that tore up the Knicks’ roster. Nuggets fans have never forgotten Anthony’s departure and booed him every time he visited Denver.
“I gave it my all here,” Anthony said at a news conference after being booed in 2021. “I never said anything bad about Denver, about the fans, the organization, the players, I never complained.” He added: “So it will always be a special place for me, regardless of the booing.”
It also seemed that the front office hadn’t forgotten about Anthony’s departure. Anthony was one of the greatest players in Nuggets history, and the number 15 he wore seemed destined for retirement. But in 2014, the Nuggets gave Anthony’s number to a little-known second-round pick whose pick was revealed while a Taco Bell commercial was playing during ESPN’s draft broadcast.
That player, Nikola Jokic, has become one of the best players in the NBA and has already done more in a Nuggets uniform than Anthony, winning two MVP awards. On Monday, Jokic led the Nuggets to their first NBA Finals.
“I hope they can retire both of their jerseys,” Nuggets forward Jeff Green. told ESPN. “Nikola and Carmelo, I know it can be done, and he deserves it for what he’s done for the franchise.”
Anthony’s best chance to retire from the jersey is probably in New York.
For many fans in the city, especially black or Latino fans, Anthony felt like a reflection of them on the court. Fans were drawn to Anthony, who is African-American and Puerto Rican, because of his style: his signature cornrows, though he didn’t have them in New York, the tattoos that covered his arms, his love of music hip hop.
Anthony was also ubiquitous in town outside of basketball. He attended everything from high school basketball games to hip-hop events, and still does. A year ago, I was in the audience at the Garden during a musical battle between rap groups The Lox and Dipset, rapping lyrics word for word.
In November 2005, Anthony called Angie Martinez’s radio show on Hot 97where The Lox ranted about a contract dispute they were having with Diddy, in what appeared to be an attempt to help make amends.
“What can he do to help?” Martinez asked about Anthony.
“Do you see his contract?” responded rapper Jadakiss.
“I’m in Oklahoma City,” Anthony said. We are about to go to the party. They told me that all of you were on the radio, so I had to call.
Anthony’s call stuck in New York City radio folklore, but it was also a moment that was a reflection of who he had always been.
“Culturally, it means everything,” said Charlamagne Tha God, host of “The Breakfast Club” radio show, who recalls that Anthony called Martinez’s show and was one of the more accessible stars.
“Certain moments like that stand out to me when we talk about culture,” he said, “because those are moments where you saw the intersectionality between hip-hop and basketball, and I think there aren’t too many people who represent that intersectionality. better than Carmelo Anthony.”
One of the peculiar parts of the romance between New York fans and Anthony was that their approach to basketball was very different from what the top Knicks teams had known.
During some of their best years, the Knicks were a physical team with defenders who would wear down opposing players with aggressive defense and hard fouls when attacking the basket. Players like Charles Oakley and John Starks became fan favorites due to how they embraced the bully and villain style of play.
But Anthony was not of that mold. He was known for seeming disinterested in protecting players most of the time. While he was in attack, he scored frequently, but he was a kind of black hole: when the ball came to him, he would not pass it.
Anthony holds the Knicks record for most points in a single game, with 62 against the Charlotte Bobcats in 2014; it is also the third most a player has scored in NBA history without assist.
“Yeah, sometimes I was selfish. And you know, he was a ball stopper,” said Casey Powell, known as CP The Fanchise as the founder of Knicks Fan TV. “But he was a bucket, man.”
He said that Anthony didn’t have many options to pass players on those Knicks teams and that players like Starks and Oakley were beloved because they played hard, “but Carmelo, it was his real talent that drew the fans.” Knicks fans haven’t had a player of Anthony’s caliber since Patrick Ewing led the team to the Finals in 1994, he said.
“Even though they didn’t earn a lot when he was here, he inspired a lot of kids, a lot of African-American kids, a lot of Latino kids, and he just gave us hope,” Powell said. “So sometimes the conversation around Melo is how he didn’t win, and he’s a selfish player, but there’s more to him than on the court. Off the court, he delivered.”