With Knicks training camp officially underway on Tuesday and Media Day in full swing at the team’s training facility today in Greenburgh, NY, it is only fitting New York fans and Carmelo Anthony – now a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder – say one last goodbye.
Anthony’s last few years in a Knicks uniform was filled with frustration, strife, mistrust. losing and insults. Six and a half roller coaster seasons ago, the Knicks broke up a playoff team and stripped the franchise bare to bring in the Brooklyn-born NBA All-star.
Melo was considered a Top 10 NBA player at the time and just the superstar the Knicks needed to return to prominence. In the letter posted on his website thisismelo.com, Melo thanks NYC for helping him survive in the “Belly of the Beast” and preparing him in his first decade of life to deal with what lied ahead when he moved to Baltimore, where he became a shining light of hope in that community and started making a celebrity name for himself through the game of basketball.
Riel Zic on Twitter
Carmelo Anthony to New York in farewell letter: ‘I will always love you’ #calvinharris #drake #taylorswift
He also referred to his return to the concrete jungle as a Knicks player as the greatest test of his “Art of War” skills that he accumulated along his life’s journey.
Melo’s tenure in NYC will be seen as a disappointment to most New York fans, who celebrated the future of the Hall of Fame scorer’s arrival and believed that he would be the savior to return the franchise to the most recent glory days of the ’90s.
In the end, Melo stayed high profile and paid like a Top 3 baller, but one playoff series win, some bad luck, too many losses and a feud with Phil Jackson later and he never came close to leading the Knicks back to prominence.
Actually, he leaves with the Knicks at the lowest point that anyone can remember.
He writes:
Dear NEW YORK,
From the day I first met you, I knew we were meant to be together. It was love at first sight. From a very young age you taught me something that I will never forget – how to survive within the belly of the beast.
I must admit it was scary, frightening at times. But, not fully aware of my purpose, I was being molded and prepared for the rest of my life without even knowing. My first nine years went by so fast. By the time I really was starting to understand, it was time for me to move on and start another chapter in my life. That chapter was called BALTIMORE. Instantly, Id fallen in love again. (Hence the saying LOVE HAS NO BARRIERS). I guess I was all too familiar with the Belly of the Beast.
I learned how to survive, I learned the sense of community, I learned about responsibility, as well as becoming a P.O.M.E (Product Of My Environment). You catch my drift. Then I had to depart again to go on this long journey where my ART OF WAR skills would be tested. Lots of good times and lots of bad times. Losing myself at times, questioning myself in the midst of finding KNOWLEDGE, WISDOM, and UNDERSTANDING. Several years, months, days, hours, seconds went by and I found myself having an opportunity to get back with my first love. (Its called CIPHER in my lessons). It was a sense of rebirth.
I came to NYC to B (Be) Born again. The sense of something extraordinary happening left me with a lot of sleepless nights dreaming of possibilities. The one thing I kept telling myself was Make my mark in NYC and Id be a made man.
New York equipped me to make it in any other place in the world. It taught me how to Be Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable. Saying Goodbye is the hardest thing to do. I never thought I would, especially to you. No one will ever take your place. Its hard to find someone like you, so know you will always be missed. You helped me laugh. You dried my tears. Because of you, I have no fears. You came into my life and I was blessed. Its time to raise my hand and say goodbye. Its not the end, because like Ive always said, NYC til the end.
Ive known you for years now, and I must say theyve been the best years Ive ever had. You helped me become the person I am today. I just want you to know YOU will always be in my heart. No matter what happens, I will always LOVE YOU. Although this goodbye is just temporary, this is the hardest goodbye for me to say.
I wipe the tears off my cheek and smile at the same time because I know that we will meet again someday. Ive had my shining moments, upon this life darkened stage. And in my BOOK of WONDERMENTS, you will never be just another page. Your bright lights will travel with me far past when all the other lights go out.
“The years pass. The times change. The only thing that survives and transcends this inevitable process, that shines brighter with each new era is the record of a GREAT human spirit that has endured struggle and remained true to its deepest convictions to the very end.
I had to ask myself, toward what goal or achievement am I striving in life? I know life can be full of contradictions. It can be unfair, unforgiving, too. I cannot afford to dismiss it and turn my back to the world. I was given a choice to sink or swim. Im choosing to swim. Til the very end. No matter how much the seas around me may rage.
THANK YOU
ThisIsMe7o
Thank you to All My Fans who supported me through Thick and Thin. And those who continued to support The Knicks regardless of the outcome. Thank You to Jim Dolan and the Knicks organization and all the hardworking people that dont get the credit they deserve. And most importantly, Thank you to the City of New York for allowing me to represent OUR city. 7eace be with you
Carmelo Anthony’s 62 Point Night! Watch Every Made Field Goal!
Carmelo Anthony made twenty-three shots from the field in his historic sixty-two point night. Here’s all of them. Visit nba.com/video for more highlights. About the NBA: The NBA is the premier professional basketball league in the United States and Canada.
Individually, Melo got his.
Who can forget the record-breaking 62 points he dropped against the Bobcats in January of 2014? His 24.7 point per game average and six All-star appearances prove that he put in that work on a nightly basis. Unfortunately, he didn’t do anything to dismiss the narrative that he is a one-dimensional scorer that doesn’t make his teammates better.
On the flip side, newly acquired Knicks center Enes Kanter was very happy to become a Knick and has glowing things to say about the city and the people. Canter also gave local reporters at Knicks Media Day his two cents about Carmelo, whom he scrimmaged with a couple of times this summer.
“Carmelo looked really good,” Kanter said. “I was on a different team but he’s in really good shape and I think he’s going to do a lot of good things in Oklahoma City. There’s not much distractions. It’s a small city of course, so you have to focus on basketball. I think that’s what he needed to get focused on basketball and just do his thing.”
NYC Live News on Twitter
Tune in now! #Knicks 2017 Media Day is live! #NewYorkForever https://t.co/OAyS3xgv1D
Kudos to Melo for finally escaping the MSG cess pool and landing on a team like OKC with the two most talented players he’s ever had the honor of lacing up and hitting the hardwood with in NBA MVP Russell Westbrook and Paul George.
While Melo will undoubtedly be dropping buckets and helping the Thunder battle it out in the Wild Wild Western Conference, the Knicks now anoint another savior in Kristaps Porzingis, and fans are hoping that this Era will be an improvement over the last one.
