Carmelo Anthony Reveals He Almost Returned to Knicks Before Retirement

Former NBA star Carmelo Anthony revealed Monday that he nearly returned to the New York Knicks before his retirement from the league.

Responding to fans in a mailbag segment during an episode of 7pm in Brooklyn with Carmelo Anthony and The Kid Mero In a podcast released Monday, Anthony shared that he planned to return to New York after becoming a free agent following the 2021-22 season, which he spent with the Los Angeles Lakers.

“I finished the season in L.A.,” Anthony said. “So that summer… I already knew I wasn’t going back to L.A.… It was an energy, it was a vibe. It wasn’t a bad vibe, but it wasn’t a vibe like we were having this conversation about finding something else.”

“We knew they were going in a different direction, which is cool. So at that point, I was like… my plan is going the way I planned. Come back to New York, finish in New York, have my year. Play. If it’s a good team, I can still play ball, I can still help the team.”

Anthony, the third overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft, became one of the league’s leading scorers during his first eight seasons with the Denver Nuggets. The Syracuse product was traded to the Knicks in February 2011 and became an even bigger star in the Big Apple, helping New York return to the playoffs that year for the first time since the 2003-04 season.

Anthony then spent the final five seasons of his career with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, Portland Trail Blazers and Lakers before announcing his retirement in May 2023.

Anthony had said his plan had always been to return to the Knicks, where he spent seven seasons, adding that he had even moved into a house in Westchester County, New York, in the summer of 2022. But according to Anthony, he and the Knicks were not on the same page about his potential role with the team.

“They had a spot on the roster that, respectfully, the powers that be… We sat down, had a real conversation. ‘Listen, here’s a spot. You could be on the team tomorrow. But this is the spot.’ I said, ‘No. No. I can’t.’”

“Not knowing when you’re going to play and not playing, I’d rather not go through that. I’m going to retire gracefully. I had a hell of a year in L.A. in my role, like basketball wasn’t the issue. I can’t do that. It’s a hell of a decline when you look at the big picture.”

Anthony explained that the lack of clarity he received from Knicks executives about playing time, and the feeling that the organization’s heart really wasn’t in the offer, contributed to the potential reunion falling apart.

Anthony was selected to 10 All-Star teams, won a scoring title and scored 28,289 points, 10th on the league’s all-time scoring list, during his 19-year NBA career. He also won three Olympic gold medals with USA Basketball.