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Knicks Not Retiring Carmelo Anthony Jersey: 'F***ed Up!' Says Gilbert Arenas

Carmelo Anthony could have his No. 7 jersey retired by the New York Knicks now that he's stepped away from the NBA.

Jeremy Brener

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New York Knicks legend Carmelo Anthony is enjoying retirement after 19 seasons in the NBA. A good chunk of his career was spent with the Knicks from 2011-17, but New York didn't have much team success while he was on the roster, winning just a single playoff series in that span despite his individual accomplishments. 

The Knicks' lack of team accolades casts doubt on whether his No. 7 would be retired by the organization. If it wasn't, fellow retired NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas wouldn't be pleased.

“Where would Carmelo get his jersey retired from? He’s going to be one of those players, it’s going be him, Chris Paul, they’re in this middle realm where they haven’t played enough with one team to get their jersey retired," Arenas said on his one talk show Gil’s Arena. "You would think Denver, right? So then you would think New York, so, you know, this first-ballot Hall of Famer can go without getting his jersey retired. That’s f***ed up." 

Anthony's biggest personal achievement with the Knicks came in 2012-13, when he averaged 28.7 points per game to lead the league in scoring. It was the second-highest scoring average of his career and it won him his only scoring title. That same season saw the Knicks win 54 games, the franchise's best tally since 1996-97.

As a team, the Knicks made the playoffs only three times during Anthony's tenure, but never made it past the second round of the playoffs, infamously falling to the Indiana Pacers in the 2013 conference semifinals. 

If the Knicks were to retire Anthony's No. 7, he would join Walt "Clyde" Frazier (No. 10), Dick Barnett (No. 12), Earl Monroe (No. 15), Dick McGuire (No. 15), Willis Reed (No. 19), Dave DeBusschere (No. 22), Bill Bradley (No. 24), Patrick Ewing (No. 33) and Red Holzman (unofficial No. 613) in the Madison Square Garden rafters.

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Jeremy Brener
JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.

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