Nov 16, 2010; Denver, CO, USA; New York Knicks power forward Amare Stoudemire (1) and Denver Nuggets small forward Carmelo Anthony (15) await a free throw to be completed in the fourth quarter at the Pepsi Center. The Nuggets defeated the Knicks 120-118. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Knicks Legendary Trade Still Considered One of the Best

Originally posted on New York Knicks on SI
By Henry Brown | Last updated Aug 27, 2025 7:00 AM ET

The slow nature of the late-summer portion of the NBA offseason has recently coupled with 2025's marking the end of the first quarter of the 21st century, and NBA writers have used the opportunity to look back on the best that the league's had to offer since 2000.

Carmelo Anthony has had a relatively tough go of it, seeing his name left off of several lists made by the writers commemorating the milestone over at CBS Sports. The former New York Knicks star and future Hall-of-Famer went unmentioned on a list of the 25 best players of the last 25 years while over a half-dozen of his former teammates earned mentions, and was similarly left off of the even-more-exclusive All-Quarter-Century Teams.

He deserves some credit for the exciting era of Knicks basketball that he helped usher in, though, and finally heard some recognition in a ranking of the best trades of the century. New York barely squeaked onto the list, with their acquisition of Anthony taking the final, 25th spot on the list.

"The Knicks sent an awful lot to the [Denver] Nuggets to bring in Anthony, including a pick swap that became Jamal Murray, but for a franchise that had been starved for a legit star, it was all worth it for the Knicks," Robby Kalland wrote. "The Anthony era didn't yield the postseason success they hoped for, but those first three years brought hope back to Madison Square Garden and made the Knicks relevant again."

Former New York Knicks Forward Carmelo Anthony Tim Fuller-Imagn Images

"Anthony was the best player New York had since Patrick Ewing, and while this current iteration of the Knicks led by Jalen Brunson has eclipsed his tenure, it's hard to overstate how brutal the decade prior to Anthony's arrival was for New York basketball."

The Knicks only advanced to the playoffs' second round once with Anthony at the helm, but the 10x All-Star really did help breathe some fresh life into the organization. New York had to cough up a few rotational pieces in Danilo Gallinari, Raymond Felton and Wilson Chandler to make the deal work, though, and struggled mightily to effectively surround the 10x All-Star with sufficient help throughout the majority of his term there.

Brunson's already brought the city considerably more glory than Anthony was able to manage, but it's still worth noting how much more assistance the star guard has gotten from his front office in locating the right role players to push the Knicks into the tier of upper-crust contenders.

This article first appeared on New York Knicks on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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