Why Hawks Congratulated Carmelo Anthony With Tongue-in-Cheek Tweet

The veteran announced his retirement on Monday.

After Carmelo Anthony announced his retirement from the NBA on Monday, many people and organizations from around sports congratulated the veteran on a successful NBA career. For the Hawks, however, they took the opportunity to have some fun involving the former forward.

Anthony was briefly traded from the Thunder to Atlanta after the 2018 season. However, Anthony never played a game for the Hawks as Atlanta bought him out immediately, allowing Anthony to become a free agent. 

That didn’t stop the Hawks from making an Anthony jersey, which they showed off immediately after the trade. Atlanta brought the jersey back again five years later as part of their congratulatory tweet for Anthony.

Anthony would sign with the Rockets that summer, while the Hawks also acquired Dennis Schroder as part of taking on Anthony’s contract. Oklahoma City, meanwhile, received salary cap relief as its primary motivator for the move.

At the time, it seemed like Anthony’s career was winding down, but he would find roles in Houston, Portland and Los Angeles through 2022. However, nothing will beat those hours he was a Hawk.