Carmelo Anthony, the previous Knicks star and one of many best scorers in N.B.A. 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 courtroom the place I made my identify, to the sport that gave me objective and delight,” Anthony mentioned in a glossily produced video posted to social networks on Monday. The video included profession highlights, with the track “All That I Obtained 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 Nuggets drafted Anthony third total out of Syracuse in 2003 after he led the varsity to a Division I N.C.A.A. nationwide championship. Anthony may need been drafted greater if not for a participant he would kind a detailed friendship with: LeBron James, who went first total to Cleveland.
Anthony instantly demonstrated his prowess for scoring. His elite footwork, burly physique and fast launch on his jumper from wherever on the courtroom made him tough to protect. Paul Pierce, the Corridor of Famer, mentioned earlier this 12 months that he would have fairly guarded Kobe Bryant or James than Anthony.
Anthony led the Nuggets to the playoffs in his rookie 12 months. He jab-stepped, up-faked and posted up his technique to 10 All-Star Video games and 6 All-N.B.A. groups. Anthony ended his profession with 28,289 whole factors — good for ninth in N.B.A. historical past. He additionally received three Olympic gold medals and one bronze.
Many Knicks followers are notably keen on Anthony, who was born in Brooklyn and pressured the Nuggets to commerce him to New York in 2011 so he may crew up with a 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. However Anthony did present memorable performances at Madison Sq. Backyard, together with a sport in 2014 wherein he scored 62 factors, a franchise document. Anthony additionally led the Knicks to one in all their solely playoff sequence wins of the century, in 2013 in opposition to the Boston Celtics.
All advised, Anthony performed for six groups: the Nuggets, Knicks, Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder, Houston Rockets, Portland Path Blazers and Lakers.
Anthony’s profession had a number of pace bumps.
He developed a popularity for lax protection and hogging the ball. His former Nuggets coach, George Karl, wrote in his 2017 memoir that Anthony “solely performed laborious 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 Nuggets.
Like many All-Stars earlier than him, Anthony struggled to regulate to a drop-off in his sport as he entered the again half of his profession. After the Knicks traded him to Oklahoma Metropolis earlier than the 2017-18 season, he appeared to have the perfect likelihood of his profession to win a championship as a result of he was teaming up with Paul George and Russell Westbrook, perennial All-Stars. However he scoffed on the thought of coming off the bench, and plenty of followers blamed him when the crew fizzled out early within the playoffs.
Quickly, Anthony’s profession was hanging within the steadiness. He appeared in simply 10 video games for Houston within the 2018-19 season earlier than he was sidelined and later traded to Chicago, although 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 position that he had laughed at in Oklahoma Metropolis. He ended his profession taking part in subsequent to James in Los Angeles.
Off the courtroom, Anthony turned more and more outspoken on social points, together with police violence, after showing in a home made video titled “Cease Snitching” early in his profession. The video discouraged individuals 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 coloration, in addition to to push for causes like modifications to the prison 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 goals. Let nothing maintain you again. Let nothing intervene. My legacy now and without end lives on by you.”
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