NBA Hall of Famer Carmelo Anthony isn’t too hopeful about the New York Knicks’ title chances this season.
The 10-time All-Star and Brooklyn, New York native played 19 NBA seasons, and parts of seven seasons with the Knicks. In an interview with NBA insider Marc Stein, Anthony spoke candidly about whether he believes this current Knicks team has what it takes to deliver a championship in a wide-open Eastern Conference.
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“I don’t know about winning one. I think the opportunity for them to get to the Finals … they have that opportunity,” Anthony said. “Now winning, that’s something different, winning a championship. But I will say I like the Knicks’ chances of coming out of the East.
“I think they had an opportunity to take some bumps and bruises over the past couple of seasons. And hopefully they learn from that. I think they learned from those mistakes that they’ve made and they’ve gotten better. Those guys are a year older. They’re more mature. They love playing with each other. We’re going to see what this new system is with Mike Brown.”
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Anthony has a unique experience, given that he has been a part of the long-awaited pursuit of a championship in New York during his playing days.
“You feel it. You feel it. Me in particular, because I’m the one that was leading the helm on that, right, so I felt that energy. I felt that pressure. I never allowed the pressure to sink in, but it’s there. You know it’s there. You think about it. You feel it. And you want to give those fans that [championship] so bad. Most people allow that pressure to just bubble up and build up and build up because you want to give it back to them so fast. So bad.
“With me, it was just about that journey, man, and coming out and performing every night on a high level, taking responsibility for whatever I need to and trying to, you know, get my team to win. Did (a championship) happen? No, but it was fun doing that. It was fun going through that process and building teams and trying to figure out … I always respect my time with the Knicks.”
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