Carmelo Anthony Breaks Silence On Knicks Legend’s Disapproval Amid Hall of Fame Induction

“If you got to think about it, then cool, just let it be.” That’s Carmelo Anthony’s take on the never-ending debate about whether his No. 7 deserves a permanent home in Madison Square Garden’s rafters. Melo’s Hall of Fame induction on September 6 is a lock—his place among the game’s greats was sealed the moment he climbed into the NBA’s top 10 all-time scoring list. But Hall of Fame credentials don’t automatically guarantee jersey retirement, and sentiment around Melo’s case remains split.

Enter Knicks legend Walt “Clyde” Frazier, whose own No. 10 hangs proudly in the Garden after leading New York to its only two championships. For Clyde, banners are about rings, and in his eyes, Melo didn’t replicate that achievement. The Garden continues to shower Anthony with love—tribute videos, roaring ovations, even players imitating his iconic “3 to the Dome” celebration. Still, lingering disappointment that he left without a title leaves the debate unsettled.

“So he’s not held in high esteem right now, but I don’t see them putting Melo in there because of that,” is how Frazier saw it.

Although he said this in 2018, it resurfaced now and popped up on Melo’s Instagram feed. So he duly commented, “Respect Clyde 🫡”  under the post. He also commented a slew of laughing emojis in another comment. So… he took it… well?

And while there’s a case to be made for his Knicks’ jersey to be up in the rafters. Melo had a unique take on his Denver’s jersey. When asked about the debate over whose No. 15 should be retired in Denver—his or Jokic’s—Anthony proposed a solution that avoids comparison, saying, “F— it, put both up lol. Two different type of players. No comparisons only respect. Put his number up there. It should never be a comparison. We don’t even have the same play style.”

Maybe it’s not all that surprising. Carmelo Anthony has his own dreams around his jersey retirement.

Carmelo Anthony is cool with the sentiment

The Knicks had been through a period of mismanagement when Carmelo Anthony arrived from Denver where he was closer to his prime with Allen Iverson. He turned the franchise around and led them to multiple playoff appearances. Yet Walt Frazier believes Allan Houston and Bernard King deserve the honor of having their numbers retired before Melo’s turn. Charles Oakley too, but Frazier knows that relationship has been soured too much for that.

In 2023, Melo officially retired and remained in New York, closer to his Red Hook roots. He hosts his podcast there, is a constant presence at Knicks games, his son goes to Syracuse where the athletic facility is named after him, and he lives and breathes New York. The idea of his jersey getting retired here makes him as sentimental as finding out he was going into the Hall of Fame.

Anthony was asked if he’d like to see his jersey retired at the Hall of Fame inductees press conference earlier this year. “Why not? … I would love to see that,” Melo said about both his Denver and Knicks numbers. The odds of Nuggets also retiring Melo’s jersey are up in the air. Because of the franchises’ hesitation, Melo added, “For me, it’s like, ‘Why wait?’ If you got to think about it, then cool — just let it be.”

Melo was the picture of ‘act cool so they don’t know how much you want it.’ But Frazier made those comments when tensions between Anthony and the Knicks were fresh. We don’t know his opinions now. Maybe Jeff Teague can invite the Knicks icon on Club 520 to find out because he too commented under that post, “I’m about to get on Clyde he gotta chill out.” 

And who knows, maybe the Knicks will turn around like the Toronto Raptors, who retired Vince Carter’s jersey after his Hall of Fame induction and buried over two decades of animosity. We can keep an eye out for that after this weekend, when Carmelo Anthony is officially a Hall-of-Famer.