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Before Julius Randle, Carmelo Anthony was the most polarizing New York Knicks star.
Anthony, who officially retired on Monday, was sympathetic to Randle’s plight after he earned the ire of a quarter of the Knicks fan base following another disappointing playoff performance.
In a wide-ranging interview with Sports Illustrated’s Chris Herring, the former Knicks star shared his perspective on playing in New York, which can help Randle navigate his love-hate relationship with the fans and the media.
Anthony won’t miss being tabloid fodder in New York. He alluded to the deluge of criticism that current Knicks star Julius Randle has gotten. “Now I can wake up and say, ‘Damn, [thank goodness] they ain’t talking about me!’ I can sit back and rest,” he says. “I felt it for all those years, but being on the other side of it, I have a different perspective now. I see what’s gotta happen from a media perspective, but I feel for the athletes.”
Anthony led the Knicks to three playoff runs and became a six-time All-Star in the six-plus seasons he played with them, but he told Herring, his time in New York “felt like more of a survival stage, if that makes sense.”
As soon as I got to New York, it started to become more about, ‘He’s gotta change his game, and he’s gotta do this or that.’ … Between that, and the intelligence you had to have in dealing with New York and all the media stuff, it went beyond just having to perform on the court.
Randle had a magnificent bounce-back regular season after a down year, claiming his second All-Star berth and a spot in the All-NBA Third Team as he averaged a career-high 25.1 points and 2.8 3s per game on top of 10 rebounds and 4.1 assists while lowering his turnover to 2.8 from 3.4 the previous season. His 45.9% field goal shooting and 34.3% accuracy from deep were a marked improvement from last season.
But an ankle injury kept Randle from playing in the final five games of the regular season. He never found his rhythm and consistency in the playoffs hastening the Knick’s downfall in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Adult Site Extends Outrageous Offer to Carmelo Anthony
CamSoda – an adult webcam site – pitched an outrageous offer to the future Hall of Famer to become their “Chief Ball Officer” (CBO). The role, according to the email sent to Heavy Sports, would pay $250,000 for the ex-Knicks Star to help them with model recruitment and consult on a XXX “banana boat” scene the site wants to film this summer.
Anthony was a member of the “Banana Boat” crew, which became part of the NBA pop culture when a photo of his friends LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul, and Wade’s wife Gabrielle Union riding a banana boat while on vacation in 2015 went viral. While Anthony was not in the photo, he was with them on the trip.
Carmelo Anthony Celebrates Retirement in Style
Anthony celebrated his retirement on Monday night with an exclusive VIP dinner at Aman Jazz Club in New York with close family and friends, and his newest sponsor, 1800 Tequila.
Anthony stars in their “Taste Is Everything” TVC campaign.
Jordan Brand, where Anthony is one of their signature athletes, also paid tribute to his storied basketball career with a poignant TV spot during the Game 4 of the NBA Western Conference Finals between his other former teams Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers.
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