Carmelo Anthony spent the majority of his 19-year NBA career with the Denver Nuggets and New York Knicks, and he’d like both franchises to retire his jersey. At a press conference at the Alamodome, where it was officially announced he’ll enter the Hall of Fame this year, Anthony was asked if the Knicks should retire his No. 7 jersey.
“Why not?” Anthony said. “… But I would love to see that, man. For me, it’s like, why wait? You know, it’s why wait? If you got to think about it, then cool, just let it be.”
Not long after Anthony announced his retirement in May 2023, it was reported that the Knicks were thinking of retiring his jersey. The 40-year-old was asked if he had heard anything from the organization about that and revealed he hadn’t.
“I don’t know, man,” Anthony stated. “To be honest with you, a lot of surprises is happening right now around me, so I’m just trying to stay in the moment. And if that’s one of the surprises, then I would be ecstatic about that… I would like to see that jersey in both rafters, Denver and New York.”
It is far more likely that the Knicks will retire Anthony’s jersey than the Nuggets. The reason for that, of course, is that the No. 15 jersey he wore for the Nuggets is currently worn by Nikola Jokic.
Jokic is the greatest player in franchise history and is definitely getting his jersey retired in the future. So, the Nuggets would have to retire the number twice. In case you’re wondering if that’s even possible, the Knicks and Portland Trail Blazers have done it in the past.
The Knicks retired No. 15 for Earl Monroe and Dick McGuire, while the Trail Blazers retired No. 30 for Bobby Gross and Terry Porter. So, there is no rule against this, and the only question is if the Nuggets feel they should go this route for Anthony.
The Nuggets selected Anthony with the third pick of the 2003 NBA Draft. He’d spend the first seven and a half seasons of his career with the franchise, averaging 24.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game.
Anthony currently ranks fourth all-time in points (13,970) and eighth in steals (634) in Nuggets franchise history. Despite the messy nature of his departure to the Knicks in 2011 and the fact that he didn’t win a title, he does have a good case to become the eighth individual to have his jersey retired in Denver.
As for the Knicks, well, Anthony averaged 24.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.0 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game in six and a half seasons. He won a scoring title with them in 2013 and helped revive the franchise after years of mediocrity. Like with the Nuggets, though, Anthony wasn’t able to lead the Knicks to a title.
The Knicks have retired nine jerseys so far (eight players and one coach). Of the nine, only two never won a title with the franchise as player or head coach: McGuire and Patrick Ewing. You’d reckon Anthony has a shot at becoming the third, but time will tell.
