Carmelo Anthony announces retirement after 19 NBA seasons

Carmelo Anthony, the former Knicks star and one of the greatest goalscorers in NBA history, announced his retirement Monday, calling the farewell after 19 seasons “bittersweet.”

Anthony, 38, last played in April 2022 as a reserve for the Los Angeles Lakers and spent the last few seasons of his career in more limited roles.

“Now it’s time to say goodbye to the court where I made a name for myself, to the game that gave me purpose and pride,” said Anthony in a beautifully produced video posted to social networks on Monday. The video featured career highlights, featuring the Ghostface Killah song “All That I Got Is You” featuring Mary J. Blige in the background.

Anthony said he was “excited about what the future holds”.

The Denver Nuggets brought Anthony third overall out of Syracuse in 2003 after leading the school to a Division I NCAA national championship. Anthony might have ranked higher if it wasn’t for a player he would form a close friendship with: LeBron James, who went to Cleveland for first overall.

Anthony immediately demonstrated his ability to score. His elite footwork, hefty physique and quick release on his jumper from anywhere on the court made him difficult to guard. Paul Pierce, the Hall of Famer, said earlier this year that he would have preferred to watch Kobe Bryant or James dan Anthony.

Anthony led the Nuggets to the playoffs his rookie year. He stepped, pretended and posted his way to 10 All-Star games and six All-NBA teams. Anthony finished his career with a total of 28,289 points – good for ninth place in NBA history. He also won three Olympic gold medals and one bronze.

Many Knicks fans especially love Anthony, who was born in Brooklyn and pressured the Nuggets to trade him to New York in 2011 so he could team up with fellow All-Star Amar’e Stoudemire. The move gave the fan base some optimism after a decade of front office incompetence.

The partnership never fully paid off, mainly due to injuries to Stoudemire. But Anthony provided memorable performances at Madison Square Garden, including a game in 2014 in which he scored 62 points, a franchise record. Anthony also led the Knicks to one of their only playoff series wins of the century, in 2013 against the Boston Celtics.

All told, Anthony played for six teams: the Nuggets, Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, Portland Trail Blazers, and Los Angeles Lakers.

Anthony’s career had several speed bumps.

He developed a reputation for lax defense and possession. His former Nuggets coach, George Karl, wrote in his 2017 memoir that Anthony “only played hard on one side of the ball”. And while Anthony’s teams reliably made the playoffs, he made the conference finals only once, in 2009 with the Nuggets.

Like many All-Stars before him, Anthony struggled to adjust to a slump in his game as he entered the second half of his career. After the Knicks traded him to Oklahoma City before the 2017–18 season, he appeared to have the best chance of his career at winning a championship as he teamed with perennial All-Stars Paul George and Russell Westbrook. But he scoffed at the idea of get off the couchand many fans blamed him when the team fell out early in the playoffs.

Soon Anthony’s career was on the line. He played in just 10 games for Houston in the 2018-19 season before being sidelined and later traded to Chicago, though he never played in games for the Bulls and was soon waived. He revived his career in Portland over the next two seasons by accepting the bankroll he had laughed at in Oklahoma City. He ended his career by playing alongside James in Los Angeles.

Off court, Anthony became increasingly outspoken about social issues, including police brutality, after appearing in a homemade video titled “No Snitching” early in his career. The video discouraged people from talking to police about crimes.

After George Floyd was killed by a police officer in 2020, Anthony co-founded a philanthropic investment fund with Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade to invest in communities of color and push for things like changes to the criminal justice system.

In his retirement video, Anthony said he didn’t believe his legacy was his on-court accomplishments because his “story has always been about more than basketball.”

“My legacy? My son,” Anthony said to his teenage son, Kiyan Anthony. He added: “Chase your dreams. Don’t let anything stop you. Don’t let anything interfere. My legacy lives on now and forever through you.