Knicks Carmelo Anthony
SAN ANTONIO — “Why not?”
That was Carmelo Anthony’s response when asked if his No. 7 jersey should be retired by the Knicks.
Anthony was at the Final Four at the Alamodome on Saturday for the announcement that he was being inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
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“I would love to see that,” the 10-time NBA All-Star said. “For me, it’s like, ‘Why wait?’ If you got to think about it then cool, just let it be.”
Two years ago, Ian Begley of SNY reported that there were some within the franchise who felt that Anthony did enough in his seven seasons with the Knicks to warrant such an honor.
Carmelo Anthony speaks during a Naismith Hall Fame Class of 2025 inductee news conference at the Final Four of the NCAA college basketball tournament on Saturday, April 5, 2025. AP
“I don’t know, man, to be honest with you,” said Anthony, who has remained a favorite among Knicks fans. “A lot of surprises are happening right now around me, so I’m trying to stay in the moment, and if that’s one of the surprises, then I would be ecstatic about that. I would love to see that jersey hung up.”
Eight Knicks players and one coach have their jerseys retired, and nobody since Patrick Ewing in 2003.
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They include Walt Frazier, Dick Barnett, Dick McGuire, Earl Monroe, Willis Reed, Dave DeBusschere, Bill Bradley, Ewing and former coach Red Holzman. Only Ewing and McGuire didn’t win championships.
Anthony, 40, played a significant role in the history of the Knicks. He wanted them at a time no other major stars did.
Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony reacts while on the court during the second half in 2017. Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post
He made them matter in an otherwise awful era of basketball at MSG.
He led them to the playoffs in three straight seasons from 2010-13 and represented them in six All-Star games.
He averaged a league-high 28.7 points in 2012-13 and was the face of the franchise, annually carrying poor rosters.
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But he only won one playoff series with them.
Anthony is one of seven players to score at least 10,000 points in a Knicks jersey.
Danny Crawford, left, holds up Carmelo Anthony’s arm during a Naismith Hall Fame Class of 2025 inductee news conference at the Final Four of the NCAA college basketball tournament Saturday, AP
He has been a fixture at the Garden, supporting the Knicks.
He believes in this team, even if it has struggled against the three top teams in the league — going a combined 0-8 against the Cavaliers, Thunder and Celtics.
“We’re going to get healthy, we’re getting healthy now. We have a couple games left before the playoffs,” he said. “I’m rolling with us. I think we have a really, really good team. I think we have the pieces everybody said that we needed. It’s just a matter of them putting it all together. It’s on the players at this point.”
