Anthony wore 15 in Denver, but had to change to 7 when he became a Knick. The franchise had already twice retired 15 after it was worn by Earl Monroe and by point-guard pioneer Dick McGuire.<\/p>\n
Carmelo did his time in Denver, but he had a truer impact on New York,\u2019\u2019 one NBA personnel director said. \u201cMaybe didn\u2019t win as much, but if any of the two teams retire his jersey, the Knicks are first.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
With Jokic three victories away from Denver\u2019s first NBA title in its first Finals appearance, it\u2019s become problematic for Anthony and Jokic to celebrate a special night together.<\/p>\n
Anthony enjoyed a longer and more successful tenure in Denver than in New York.<\/p>\n
Anthony, who didn\u2019t attend either of the first two Finals games in Denver\u2019s history at Ball Arena, played 10.5 seasons in Denver (2003-2011), making the playoffs every season, but only once reaching the Western Conference finals.<\/strong><\/p>\nHe forced his controversial trade to the Knicks during the 2010-11 campaign. Raised in Brooklyn, Anthony wanted to play for the Knicks when it was no longer chic to be part of owner James Dolan\u2019s dysfunctional gang.<\/p>\n
\u201cCarmelo Anthony is a champion of New York just by wanting to come here when a lot of people were afraid,\u2019\u2019 the league executive said. \u201cKevin Durant and Kyrie Irving did not want to deal with New York media and scrutiny of being in New York as a Knick.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Melo’s Knicks Bust<\/h2>\n In seven Knicks seasons, Anthony never led the Knicks out of the second round. Anthony\u2019s Knicks failed to make the playoffs during his final four seasons there.<\/p>\n
\n
Anthony\u2019s tenure was a mixed bag, and I covered almost every one of his games live as a Knicks beat writer for the New York Post<\/em>. Anthony\u2019s clutch shooting percentage (shots in the final five minutes of a 5-point game) was substandard. He lost his Denver tag as the game\u2019s best closer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nAnthony did set the Knicks\/Garden scoring record with a 62-point night vs. Charlotte in 2014, but that\u2019s the issue. It was more about points than playoffs and leadership. Anthony, too, forced a trade out of New York in 2017.<\/p>\n
Why Aren’t More Knicks Numbers Retired?<\/h2>\n The unofficial Knicks policy is that only champions have their numbers raised to the rafters, save for Patrick Ewing (33), the greatest Knick of all-time, and McGuire.<\/p>\n
Others who had their numbers raised were part of the 1970 and 1973 championship teams: Walt Frazier (10), Willis Reed (19), Dave DeBusschere (22), Bill Bradley (24), and Dick Barnett (12).<\/p>\n
Carmelo proved to be one of the most devastating offensive weapons in Knicks history but the honor of having a jersey number retired has traditionally been reserved for NBA champions, tremendous longevity, and the absolute elite,\u2019\u2019<\/strong> former longtime Knicks Publicity Director Jonathan Supranowitz said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nBernard King (30) and 1950\u2019s\/60\u2019s star Richie Guerin (9) long campaigned to have their Knicks jerseys retired, as both are in the Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n
Anthony, who won an NCAA title with Syracuse, is certain to be named to the Hall of Fame, too, when eligible in two years, as he\u2019s ranked ninth in points. That might be where the honors stop.<\/p>\n
But the varying opinions on Anthony will never stop.<\/p>\n
Earlier this week, knick-killer Reggie Miller was a guest on the “Dan Patrick Show” on FoxSports<\/em> radio. Miller said Anthony\u2019s number should be retired in New York, to which Patrick scoffed: \u201cYou had more impact on the Knicks than Carmelo did.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\nAnd then there\u2019s this rosy perspective.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf he waited as a free agent, the Knicks would\u2019ve won the championship,\u2019 the NBA executive said. \u201cThey gave up a lot to get him. He was the lone soldier. He came here and carried them. But he needed help.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
There\u2019s a slew of NBA novelty bets for the Finals. But one that hasn\u2019t surfaced is odds on whether Carmelo Anthony will have his jersey number retired with the Nuggets, Knicks, both, or neither. Before the Nuggets’ burly center, Nikola Jokic, emerged in his “15” jersey to become arguably the league\u2019s best player, odd were […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":103,"featured_media":276559,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Carmelo Anthony's Denver Nuggets\/New York Knicks Jerseys Debate Rages On - Casino.org<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n