Carmelo Anthony Reveals Reason for Turning Down Knicks Reunion Before Retirement

New York Knicks and Denver Nuggets legend Carmelo Anthony retired after his final season with the Los Angeles Lakers

Jan 17, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks former player Carmelo Anthony acknowledges the crowd after being introduced to the fans during the second quarter against the Houston Rockets at Madison Square Garden. / Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

NBA legend Carmelo Anthony played the final year of his career with the Los Angeles Lakers at age 37. A productive player for Los Angeles, Anthony averaged 13.3 points in 69 games and could have seemingly played another year.

Opting for retirement after that season, Anthony recently revealed on an episode of his 7PM in Brooklyn podcast that he had an offer from the New York Knicks to finish his career there.

Drafted by the Denver Nuggets in 2003, Anthony’s rise to superstardom happened there. That said, New York is the city he has been most connected to, and the NBA legend admitted that is where he wanted to retire.

"My plan is playing out the way that I wrote it out,” Anthony said, recalling the opportunity to retire with the Knicks. “To come back to New York, finish it out in New York… It's a good team, I can still play ball, I can still help the team out… My goal was always to make it back here to finish it out here anyway."

While the offer was there, Anthony revealed why he decided to retire instead.

"They had a spot on the roster," Anthony said. "Respectfully, the powers that be, we sat down and had a real conversation. Listen, here's a spot. You could be on the team tomorrow, but this is the spot. I said nah. Nah, I can't. The not knowing of when you're going to play, not going to play, I'd rather not go through that. I’m gonna bow out gracefully. I just had a hell of a year in LA in my role.”

Melo reveals that he turned down an opportunity to return to the Knicks

“I said, ‘Nah. Nah. I can’t. The not knowing of when you’re gonna play and not play, uh, I’d rather not go through that. I’ma bow out gracefully.’”

(🎥 @7PMinBrooklyn )pic.twitter.com/go3Pm4NySP

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) August 27, 2024

Not wanting to finish his career in New York as a player who is in and out of the rotation, Anthony decided to end his NBA career after the 2021-22 season.

“That’s a hell of a decline,” Anthony said. “To go from… So I had to stand on that. No disrespect. These are people that I really f—k with, you know, we have real relationships. So it was just like no, I can't accept that. I don't even think you all want me in that role... That's not the representation of New York Knicks No. 7 Melo that we want people to remember."

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