The New York Knicks Should Retire Carmelo Anthony's No. 7 Jersey Number
Carmelo Anthony was responsible for making the New York Knicks relevant again
It’s been over a year since Carmelo Anthony retired from the NBA. Despite the bad rap and unnecessary criticism he received later in his career, he will go down as one of the most prolific scorers of all time.
Anthony was always a talented player, but he really started to reach stardom when he played for the New York Knicks.
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 24.7 points per game with the Knicks, along with 7.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.0 steal. He was also a lethal shooter, shooting 44.3% from the field while knocking down 36.9% of his 3-pointers. He finished his time there with a combined true shooting percentage of 54.5%.
The Brooklyn native logged in 92 double-doubles with the Knicks but only managed one triple-double. However, he did contribute 43.6 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 the 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 they did make the playoffs, he was there to put on a show. During those playoff runs, he averaged a combined 28.0 points per game, as well as 7.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.1 steals. He shot 40.4% from the field, but his 3-point shooting went down to 29.7%.
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.
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 The Lead. He attended Northern Virginia Community College. He can be reached at corymckenzienelson@hotmail.com or follow him on Twitter @CKenzyNelson, Instagram @ckenzynelson, and Threads @ckenzynelson