\u201cIf you got to think about it, then cool, just let it be.\u201d \u2013 This is how Carmelo Anthony felt about the debate surrounding his jersey retirement. He\u2019ll be a Hall-of-Famer come September 6, an honor there was no doubt he had in the bag from the moment he came the NBA\u2019s all-time leading scorer. If only jersey retirement odds were calculable. But that\u2019s sentiment. And popular sentiment still doesn\u2019t favor Melo. At least that\u2019s how a Knicks legend sees it. But did Melo just agree with it?<\/p>\n
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Walt \u201cClyde\u201d Frazier once again got Knicks nation debating if #7 should be in the rafters. As the floor general who led the Knicks to the franchise\u2019s only two titles, his no.10 jersey owns its spot in the rafters of the Garden. However, he claims not recreating his achievement doesn\u2019t warrant a spot next to his number.<\/p>\n
Melo left the Knicks on bad terms in 2017. In 2018, Frazier was asked if he thought Anthony deserves to have his jersey retired.\u00a0\u201cProbably not because he didn\u2019t win a title,\u201d Frazier replied then. The Knicks always welcome Melo at MSG, he gets tribute videos, and players imitate his 3 to the Dome celebration. Yet there is some displeasure that he didn\u2019t win them a title.<\/p>\n
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\u201cSo he\u2019s not held in high esteem right now, but I don\u2019t see them putting Melo in there because of that,\u201d is how Frazier saw it.<\/p>\n
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Although he said this in 2018, it resurfaced now and popped up on Melo\u2019s Instagram feed. So he duly commented, \u201cRespect Clyde \ud83e\udee1\u201d\u00a0 under the post. He also commented a slew of laughing emojis in another comment. So\u2026 he took it\u2026 well?<\/p>\n
Maybe it\u2019s not all that surprising. Carmelo Anthony<\/a> has his own dreams around his jersey retirement.<\/p>\n Carmelo Anthony is cool with the sentiment<\/p>\n The Knicks had been through a period of mismanagement when Carmelo Anthony arrived<\/a> from Denver where he was closer to his prime with Allen Iverson. He turned the franchise around and led them to multiple playoff appearances. Yet Walt Frazier believes Allan Houston and Bernard King deserve the honor of having their numbers retired before Melo\u2019s turn. Charles Oakley too, but Frazier knows that relationship has been soured too much for that.<\/p>\n In 2023, Melo officially retired and remained in New York, closer to his Red Hook roots. He hosts his podcast there, is a constant presence at Knicks games, his son goes to Syracuse<\/a> where the athletic facility is named after him, and he lives and breathes New York. The idea of his jersey getting retired here makes him as sentimental as finding out he was going into the Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n