The New York Knicks Should Retire Carmelo Anthony's No. 7 Jersey
Carmelo Anthony was responsible for making the New York Knicks relevant again
As we all know by now, Carmelo Anthony has retired after 19 years in the league. Despite the bad rap and unnecessary criticism he received, he will go down as one of the most prolific scorers of all-time.
Anthony was always a talented player but people really started showing him attention when he was playing with the New York Knicks. It makes sense to retire his No. 7 jersey.
Before his seven-year tenure with the Knicks, Anthony suited up for the Denver Nuggets for eight seasons. During his time in New York, he was a seven-time All-Star (2011-2017) who made the All-NBA Second Team in 2013 and the All-NBA Third Team in 2012. He also led the league in scoring during the 2012-13 season.
Not only did the Knicks become a playoff team again but Anthony made them a big market team. He was the star in New York and brought a lot of revenue into Madison Square Garden.
He averaged 24 points per game with the Knicks, along with seven rebounds, three assists, and one steal. He was also a lethal shooter, shooting 44 percent from the field while knocking down 37 percent of his 3-pointers. He finished his time there with a combined true shooting percentage of 55 percent.
The Brooklyn native logged in 92 double-doubles with the Knicks but only managed one triple-double. He did, however, put in 43 combined win shares.
Anthony had a handful of great games but his most memorable one was during the 2013-14 season. On Jan. 24, 2014, he scored a career-high 62 points to give the Knicks a 125-96 victory against the Charlotte Bobcats. The point total still stands as the most by a Knicks player and most in Madison Square Garden.
Unfortunately, the Knicks only made the playoffs three times while Anthony was with the franchise and never got past the second round.
When the they did make the playoffs, he was there to put on a show. During those playoff runs, he averaged a combined 28 points per game, as well as seven rebounds, two assists, and one steal. He shot 40 percent from the field but his 3-point shooting went down to 30 percent.
At this moment, Anthony is the Knicks’ 7th all-time leader in points with a total of 10,186 and their 3rd all-time leader in 3-pointers made with 762.
As for the playoffs, he is their 16th all-time leader in points with 589 and 10th in 3-pointers made with 30.
After his time in New York, Anthony suited up for the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Houston Rockets, one season each. He then played for the Portland Trail Blazers for two seasons before joining the Los Angeles Lakers.
But his time with the Knicks is one to remember.
Cory Nelson is a contributor to Sports Illustrated’s channel “Inside The Heat”. He attended Northern Virginia Community College. He can be reached at corymckenzienelson@hotmail.com or follow him on Twitter @CKenzyNelson and Instagram @ckenzynelson