Carmelo Anthony, a former Knicks star and one of the all-time leading scorers in NBA history, announced his retirement on Monday, calling the breakup “bittersweet” after 19 seasons.
Anthony, 38, last played as a reserve for the Los Angeles Lakers in April 2022 and spent the last few seasons of his career in a more limited role.
“It’s time to say goodbye to the court that made my mark and the game that gave me purpose and pride,” Anthony said in a beautifully produced video posted to social networks on Monday. The video contained career highlights, performing the Ghostface Killer song “All That I Got Is You” featuring Mary J. Blige in the background.
“I’m excited about what the future holds,” said Anthony.
The Denver Nuggets drafted Anthony 3rd overall out of Syracuse in 2003 after leading the school to the Division I NCAA National Championship. Anthony might have been a high pick had it not been for Cleveland’s No. 1 overall pick, LeBron James, with whom he would develop a close friendship.
Anthony was quick to score. His good footwork, muscular build and quick release of jumpers from anywhere on the court made him difficult to guard. Hall of Famer Paul Pierce said earlier this year: I would rather protect Kobe Bryant or James over Anthony.
Anthony led the Nuggets to the playoffs in his rookie year. He jabsteps, upfakes, posts, 10 All-Star Games and six All-NBA teams.Anthony finished his career with a total of 28,289 points, a well-deserved ninth place finish. in NBA history.he won too 3 Olympic gold medals and 1 bronze medal.
Many Knicks fans are particularly fond of Brooklyn-born Anthony, who pressured the Nuggets to trade him to New York in 2011 to team with fellow All-Star Amare Stoudamire. The move gave the fanbase some optimism after a decade of front office incompetence.
The partnership never quite came to fruition, largely due to Stoudemire’s injury. But Anthony had some memorable performances at Madison Square Garden, including a franchise-record 62-point game in 2014. Anthony also led the Knicks to their only playoff series win of the century against the Boston Celtics in 2013.
Overall, Anthony played for six teams: the Nuggets, Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, Portland Trail Blazers and Lakers.
There have been some speedups in Anthony’s career.
He developed a reputation for loose defense and hogging the ball. His former Nuggets coach George Karl wrote in his book: 2017 memoir Anthony said he “played hard on one side of the ball”. Anthony’s team certainly made the playoffs, but Anthony only made it to the conference finals once, with the Nuggets in 2009.
Like many All-Stars before him, Anthony struggled to adapt to the slump in the game later in his career. After the Knicks traded him to Oklahoma City before the 2017-18 season, he was teaming with longtime All-Stars Paul George and Russell Westbrook, making him the best of his career winning a championship. There seemed to be an opportunity forbut he scoffed at the idea come out of the benchand many fans blamed him when the team stalled early in the playoffs.
Soon, Anthony’s career was in jeopardy. He played just 10 games for Houston in 2018-19 before being sidelined and then traded to Chicago, where he never played for the Bulls and was quickly fired. He reinvigorated his Portland career over the next two seasons by taking on the bench role that had been derided in Oklahoma City. He finished his career playing next to James in Los Angeles.
Off the court, Anthony has become increasingly outspoken about social issues such as police brutality, after starring in a self-made video titled “Stop Snitching” early in his career. The video discouraged people from talking to the police about the crime.
After the police killing of George Floyd in 2020, Anthony co-founded a charitable investment fund with Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade to invest in communities of color and transform the criminal justice system. Promoted a cause such as change.
In his retirement video, Anthony said he doesn’t believe his achievements are on-court feats because “his story has always been more than just basketball.”
“My legacy? My son,” Anthony told his teenage son, Kiyan Anthony. He added: “Follow your dreams. Let nothing hold you back.
