Carmelo Anthony’s return to New York was spoiled thanks to a loss against the Knicks on Saturday.
Carmelo Anthony was the franchise player for the New York Knicks for seven seasons. After the organization basically moved on from him, he went to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Many felt that Anthony should be cheered in his return to New York, and he was.
Madison Square Garden celebrated Anthony’s tenure with a video tribute that highlighted why he was so beloved in the city. The video ended by simply saying “Thank You 7 Melo.”
Anthony started the game off for OKC with a 3-point make after a Jarrett Jack floater. That shot also started off the boos every time he touched the ball. Melo ended the game with 12 points and five rebounds, but Michael Beasley‘s 30 points were too much for the Thunder as they lost 111-96.
Carmelo went to college at Syracuse, so playing in New York for those seven seasons would understandably be close to his heart. Most people in the state of New York already remembered him for the NCAA championship he won in 2003.
His love for New York was even rooted into his blood when he was a freshman in college.
According to Syracuse.com Anthony said:
"“I always wanted to go to college. I was having so much fun at school. I was just having so much fun. There was so much excitement being up there in Syracuse. At that time Syracuse was, maybe, the No. 1 party school in America. I was actually enjoying myself up there. I didn’t want to leave. But then [Jim] Boeheim brought me up into the office and pretty much kicked me out. He told me your services are no longer needed.”"
At the time, most big-name talents were going into the draft after high school, but the love for college was too great for Anthony to not experience it.
He would eventually leave New York once again as a member of the New York Knicks after he waived his no-trade clause for a number of teams like the Thunder. Anthony just decided he wanted to move on and the emergence of Kristaps Porzingis made the Knicks able to move on as well.
The greatest taste of success that Anthony and the Knicks tasted was the 2012-13 season, where the Knicks won 54 games and they made it to the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Knicks have not made the playoffs since.
Now, Anthony is in his tenure with the OKC Thunder and will be a unrestricted free agent in 2019. While Anthony paired up with Paul George and Russell Westbrook, the Knicks (16-13) have a better record than the Thunder (14-15) at this point in the season.
According to NBA.com, Anthony said:
"”It’s a bittersweet feeling for me, coming back here knowing the goal that I had and what I wanted to accomplish here and falling short in that category,” Anthony said. ”We wanted this one. I’m not going to sit here and lie to you.”"
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The Thunder need wins and Anthony knows how big this game was for the team’s morale and his morale.