Carmelo Anthony, the previous Knicks star and one of many biggest scorers in NBA historical past, introduced his retirement on Monday, calling the farewell after 19 seasons “bittersweet.”
Anthony, 38, final performed in April 2022 as a reserve for the Los Angeles Lakers and spent the ultimate few seasons of his profession in additional restricted roles.
“Now the time has come for me to say goodbye, to the court docket the place I made my title, to the sport that gave me goal and satisfaction,” Anthony mentioned in a glossily produced video posted to social networks on Monday. The video included profession highlights, with the tune “All That I Got Is You” by Ghostface Killah that includes Mary J. Blige within the background.
Anthony mentioned he was “enthusiastic about what the long run holds.”
The Denver (*19*) drafted Anthony third general out of Syracuse in 2003 after he led the college to a Division I NCAA nationwide championship. Anthony may need been drafted larger if not for a participant he would type a detailed friendship with: LeBron James, who went first general to Cleveland.
Anthony instantly demonstrated his prowess for scoring. His elite footwork, burly physique and fast launch on his jumper from anyplace on the court docket made him troublesome to protect. Paul Pierce, the Hall of Famer, mentioned earlier this yr that he would have fairly guarded Kobe Bryant or James than Anthony.
Anthony led the (*19*) to the playoffs in his rookie yr. He jab-stepped, up-faked and posted his approach to 10 All-Star Games and 6 All-NBA groups. Anthony ended his profession with 28,289 whole factors — good for ninth in NBA historical past. He additionally gained three Olympic gold medals and one bronze.
Many Knicks followers are notably keen on Anthony, who was born in Brooklyn and pressured the (*19*) to commerce him to New York in 2011 so he might workforce up with fellow All-Star Amar’e Stoudemire. The transfer gave the fan base some optimism after a decade of incompetence from the entrance workplace.
The partnership by no means absolutely bore fruit, thanks primarily to accidents to Stoudemire. But Anthony did present memorable performances at Madison Square Garden, together with a recreation in 2014 by which he scored 62 factors, a franchise file. Anthony additionally led the Knicks to one in every of their solely playoff sequence wins of the century, in 2013 in opposition to the Boston Celtics.
All advised, Anthony performed for six groups: the (*19*), Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Lakers.
Anthony’s profession had a number of pace bumps.
He developed a popularity for lax protection and hogging the ball. His former (*19*) coach, George Karl, wrote in his 2017 memoir that Anthony “solely performed arduous on one aspect of the ball.” And whereas Anthony’s groups reliably made the playoffs, he made it so far as the convention finals solely as soon as, in 2009 with the (*19*).
Like many All-Stars earlier than him, Anthony struggled to regulate to a drop-off in his recreation as he entered the again half of his profession. After the Knicks traded him to Oklahoma City earlier than the 2017-18 season, he appeared to have the very best probability of his profession to win a championship as a result of he was teaming up with Paul George and Russell Westbrook, perennial All-Stars. But he scoffed on the concept of coming off the bench, and plenty of followers blamed him when the workforce fizzled out early within the playoffs.
Soon, Anthony’s profession was hanging within the stability. He appeared in simply 10 video games for Houston within the 2018-19 season earlier than he was sidelined and later traded to Chicago, though he by no means performed in any video games for the Bulls and was rapidly waived. He revitalized his profession in Portland over the subsequent two seasons by accepting the bench function that he had laughed at in Oklahoma City. He ended his profession taking part in subsequent to James in Los Angeles.
Off the court docket, Anthony turned more and more outspoken on social points, together with police violence, after showing in a do-it-yourself video titled “No Snitching” early in his profession. The video discouraged folks from speaking to the police about crimes.
After George Floyd was murdered by a police officer in 2020, Anthony fashioned a philanthropic funding fund with Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade to spend money on communities of colour, in addition to to push for causes like adjustments to the legal justice system.
In his retirement video, Anthony mentioned that he didn’t consider his legacy to be his on-court feats as a result of his “story has all the time been greater than basketball.”
“My legacy? My son,” Anthony mentioned, addressing his teenage son, Kiyan Anthony. He added: “Chase your desires. Let nothing maintain you again. Let nothing intervene. My legacy now and endlessly lives on by you.”