Carmelo Anthony may have hurt New York Knicks fans' feelings when he recently said there was a different kind of pride when he wore the Team USA colors than when he wore the Knicks jersey.
That's because the most die-hard Knicks fan on the internet, Stephen A. Smith , took offense to Melo's revelation. Anthony's take on gold medals versus the NBA championship was one of the topics of discussion on the latest episode of ESPN's First Take, and sure enough, SAS ripped Carmelo for picking the country over his city.
"I almost cried when I heard that Carmelo said that," Smith said . "That is maybe the most ridiculous comment I've ever heard come out of his mouth, and everybody knows how much I love my man Melo. I love him to death."
Melo was the Madison Square Guardian
Anthony played seven seasons for the Knicks from the 2010-11 season to the 2016-17 campaign. During that span, he led N.Y. to only three playoff appearances despite Melo having All-Star seasons yearly in the Big Apple.
The Knicks never made it past the second round of the playoffs during Anthony's tenure in the Madison Square Garden. Their best run was in 2012-13, when Melo was the league's scoring champion and an All-NBA second-team selection. They won 54 games and were the No.2 seed in the East but were upset in the second round by the Indiana Pacers. Carmelo never saw the postseason in N.Y. after that.
"I couldn't believe he said something so utterly ridiculous," added Stephen A. "That was just ridiculous for him to say, and all it did was bring attention to the fact that a guy that I would've loved to have won an NBA championship, I've got that much love for him. I couldn't believe he said that…Damn it, go to a French restaurant and avoid the cameras. Don't say that."
Related: "You could just feel it, the lack of respect" - Alonzo Mourning on the tense environment in the gold medal game against France in the 2000 Olympics
Gold over NBA ring for Anthony
During a recent interview with Basketnews, while he was still in Paris, the 10-time NBA All-Star said he would not trade his three Olympic gold medals for one NBA championship . Anthony mentioned the pride of representing the whole U.S. when playing for the Olympics.
"It's a different level of, I would say, pride that you have to have when you're wearing USA across your chest. It's a totally different feeling than Knicks, New York across your chest," Melo said .
Stephen A.'s co-hosts at First Take told him that perhaps Anthony was just carried away after watching the Steph Curry show in the 2024 Olympic gold medal game. SAS said he should've kept his thoughts to himself.
However,r Melo didn't really single out the Knick; he was just using the team as an example. Maybe Stephen A. is still frustrated that his beloved Knickerbockers haven't won a chip since 1973.
Related: Carmelo Anthony goes off on the NBA's ring culture: "So because we didn’t win the NBA championship, we shouldn’t get the credit?"
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