Carmelo Anthony was the only superstar in the last 20 years to believe in New York enough to go play in the city during his prime. Even though he never won a title, he made an impact that stretched far beyond the court.
Ian Begley of SNY.tv reported that there is support amongst Madison Square Garden executives (owners of the Knicks) to retire Anthony’s No. 7 jersey for his impact on the franchise and his charity work with the community.
“What I know: before Anthony’s announcement, there was strong support among some in Madison Square Garden to retire the number. No decision has been made yet. The final decision, I’d assume, will be made by team governor James Dolan.”
Anthony spent six seasons with New York and led them to the playoffs thrice. Sadly, he only made it to one second round with the team, with no real postseason success to help carry his name forward. He averaged 24.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 3.2 assists in 412 games during his time in New York.
Will Anthony’s Jersey Hang In The MSG Rafters?
The Knicks are the only franchise that is likely to retire Anthony’s number after the Denver Nuggets gave the number to a second-round pick instead of preserving its history. That worked out for Denver, as the second-round pick was Nikola Jokic who will most definitely get the number retired in his name after establishing himself as arguably the greatest Nugget of all time.
Only two names have been retired by the Knicks without winning a title, and one of them was Patrick Ewing. Otherwise, there are a lot of great Knicks players from their title contention era in the ’90s that deserve the same honor if Anthony receives it.
Allan Houston and John Starks would be the prime candidates, but there are players such as Richie Guerin deserving of the honor if you look at the team’s entire history. Even Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson could match Anthony’s on-court accomplishments, so NY has to be careful with this decision for the precedent it sets.
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