Carmelo Anthony Reacts to NBA Legend Opposing His Knicks Jersey Retirement

Back in April, when Anthony received the news that he would be inducted into the Hall of Fame, he was asked whether he would like to have his No. 7 jersey retired by the Knicks.

“I would love to see that,” Anthony replied, as reported by Zach Braziller of the New York Post. “For me, it’s like, ‘Why wait?’ If you got to think about it then cool, just let it be.” 

Even though Anthony would be all for the Knicks retiring his number, there's one Knicks legend who has a few qualms about the idea. Back in 2018, Walt Frazier said he believed Anthony wasn't held in "high regard" by the franchise and gave examples of other former Knicks that should have their jerseys retired.

"Probably not because he didn’t win a title,” Frazier told SiriusXM NBA Radio via the New York Post. “I’m surprised they didn’t put Allan Houston up there. I’m surprised Bernard King, who is in the Hall of Fame, they haven’t put Bernard up there. So those two guys I think are deserving. Perhaps maybe John Starks. Even the Oak Man, Charles Oakley, but that probably won’t happen with all the stuff he’s done at the Garden. So he’s not held in high esteem right now but I don’t see them putting Melo in there because of that."

As Frazier's comments resurfaced recently, Anthony reacted to the two-time NBA champion's take with a couple of comments of his own on Basketball Network's Instagram post. Not only did he react with the face with tears of joy emojis but also noted, "Respect Clyde "

Clearly, Anthony isn't taking Frazier's comments all that seriously. He even angered another former NBA player, with Jeff Teague going at the Knicks legend with a comment as well.

The Knicks have retired the jerseys of eight players, including Frazier, Dick Barnett, Earl Monroe, Dick McGuire, Willis Reed, Dave DeBusschere, Bill Bradley and Patrick Ewing.

Nuggets Might be Carmelo's Only Hope

If the Knicks don't elect to retire Anthony's jersey, the only other hope he has is that the Nuggets will give him that honor. Denver has retired the jerseys of eight players, including Alex English, Fat Lever, David Thompson, Byron Beck, Dan Issel and Dikembe Mutombo.

It's safe to assume that three-time NBA MVP and one-time champion Nikola Jokic will have his jersey hanging in the rafters at Ball Arena in Denver, but Anthony seeing No. 15 retired is uncertain.