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NY Knicks: How a reunion could have added to Carmelo Anthony’s Legacy

By Allen Settle

SYRACUSE, NY - FEBRUARY 23: Former Syracuse Orange player Carmelo Anthony (C) receives his jersey from athletic director Daryl Gross (L) as his number is retired during a ceremony at half time during the game against the Georgetown Hoyas at the Carrier Dome on February 23, 2013 in Syracuse, New York. (Photo by Nate Shron/Getty Images)
SYRACUSE, NY - FEBRUARY 23: Former Syracuse Orange player Carmelo Anthony (C) receives his jersey from athletic director Daryl Gross (L) as his number is retired during a ceremony at half time during the game against the Georgetown Hoyas at the Carrier Dome on February 23, 2013 in Syracuse, New York. (Photo by Nate Shron/Getty Images) /
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Carmelo Anthony, NY Knicks. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

NY Knicks: The Jersey Retirement Conundrum

One of the greatest honors in the sports world is for a franchise to retire a player’s jersey. When fans walk into a field or arena, their eyes are immediately drawn to the names and numbers hanging from the rafters.

Jersey retirement is a club’s way of publically declaring that certain players made such an impact that it would be unfitting for any other athlete to suit up in their numbers again. It is an honor reserved only for players whose skills left an irreversible mark on their franchises.

Carmelo Anthony’s career has certainly reached these levels. He currently ranks 11th all-time in scoring with 27,370 points. He is well on his way to cracking the illustrious top ten in this category. As mentioned above, the star forward has also brought a winning culture to both his collegiate and international teams. He is a sure-fire first-ballot Hall of Fame player.

However, Carmelo’s career arch has caused the notion of his jersey retirement to become muddied. After spending the first eight seasons in the NBA as a member of the Denver Nuggets, Anthony demanded to be traded away from the city that drafted him.

This led to his arrival with the New York Knicks, where he would spend the next seven seasons. Anthony would be named to the All-Star team in each of these campaigns, as he established himself as a bonafide superstar and top-tier scorer.

Unfortunately, Carmelo was seldom able to lead his teams to success in the postseason. In fact, he holds one of the worst playoff winning percentages in league history for a player of his caliber.

Ultimately, lack of team success, combined with mounting frustrations with then-Knicks’ President Phil Jackson, led to Anthony demanding his way out of NYC.

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