Carmelo Anthony wasn't appreciated in NY until he was gone

The moment was a long time coming.

Carmelo Anthony sat courtside at Madison Square Garden with his son, Kiyan, earlier this month, watching the Knicks play in a second-round playoff game for the first time since he led them to the conference semifinals in 2013. During a break in the action, the Knicks played a video tribute of Anthony’s most iconic moments and then panned to him in the stands framing the shot with the words "Knicks Legend."

The reaction was almost deafening. Fans gave Anthony a standing ovation that rivaled the one they gave two nights earlier to Patrick Ewing. Anthony stood, raised his hands to the rafters and finally got to soak in the love of the fans he had given so much to for seven seasons.

Maybe we were greedy. Maybe we were just frustrated by the Knicks’ lack of success. Maybe, for whatever reason, we just didn’t like Anthony’s iso-ball style of play.

The truth is Anthony was a great player and he was ours. Like snowy winters, the 1970s and a full head of kinky hair, Anthony was never truly appreciated until he was long gone.

On Monday, Anthony made it official. He is never coming back. He will never play again in a Knicks uniform or any other in the NBA as he announced his retirement in a videotaped message on social media.

"Now the time has come for me to say goodbye . . . to the game that gave me purpose and pride," Anthony said in announcing a decision he called bittersweet.

Here’s one indisputable fact: From a pure statistical standpoint, Anthony is the greatest player ever to wear a Knicks uniform.

The future Hall of Famer ends his career as the ninth-leading scorer in NBA history. He did not play this past season, but over his 19 years in the league he averaged 22.5 points. He shot 44.7% and 35.5% from beyond the arc to go along with 6.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. As a Knick, he averaged 24.7 points per game. 

Only LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Dirk Nowitzki, Wilt Chamberlain and Shaquille O’Neal scored more points than Anthony, who finishes his career with 28,289 points.

That’s some pretty heady company. Yet the knock on Anthony was that his gaudy numbers came at the expense of his teams’ success. The furthest Anthony ever went in the playoffs was the Western Conference final with Denver in 2009. Everyone else on that list has an NBA title, except Malone, who has three NBA Finals appearances.

There are some who found Anthony a hard star to embrace because they felt his isolation-heavy style of play was unappealing. Wherever you stand on that, the one thing that could never be questioned about Anthony's days in New York is the level of commitment he brought to the court.

Anthony’s seven years in New York stand as a brief island of relevance in a two-decade sea of mediocrity. The 10-time All-Star helped revitalize a Knicks club that hadn’t posted a winning record in a decade before his arrival in 2011. During his tenure, he led the Knicks to three straight playoff appearances, including their only series win in the decade in 2013.

Is it Anthony’s fault they never got further than the second round? That’s hard to say. It wasn’t Anthony’s job to find the kind of talent to put around him who could maximize his talents. It wasn’t Anthony, who averaged 28.5 points against the Pacers in the second round of the playoffs in 2013, who came up short.

Anthony’s effort on a nightly basis was always there. There was never any doubt that the Brooklyn native wanted to be in New York, that he wanted to be playing in front of Knicks fans. New York has a clunky way of parting ways with its superstars — see the Ewing to Seattle trade — and the way they sent Anthony to Oklahoma City was no less sad.

Yet Anthony never took it personally, never held it against the organization or its fans. He continued to consider New York a home and his son, whom he now calls his future, has enrolled at Long Island Lutheran.

And so, for those who closely watched his years as a Knick, it was gratifying to see him get the kind of reception he did earlier this month. Because, though Anthony may be retiring without an NBA championship, in the minds of Knicks fans he is a champion.

By Barbara Barker

barbara.barker@newsday.commeanbarb

Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.