Why Isn't This 10x NBA All-Star Playing On Christmas?
On Christmas, the New York Knicks are hosting the Philadelphia 76ers for the first NBA game of the day.
Ten-time NBA All-Star Carmelo Anthony is in attendance at Madison Square Garden and was shown on the big screen sitting on the court.
Knicks announcer: "Once a Knicks, always a Knick. Please welcome New York Knicks legend Carmelo Anthony!"
Anthony, wearing a New York Yankees hat, stood up and waved to the crowd.
Why isn't he on a roster?
The future Hall of Famer is 38 years old, but he is coming off a solid season where he averaged 13.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.0 assists per contest in 69 games for the Los Angeles Lakers.
In addition, the 2003 NCAA Champion shot 37.5% from the three-point range.
While he was one a superstar, he has done an excellent job in a bench role over the last two seasons (he was on the Portland Trail Blazers in 2020-21).
Seeing him in attendance as a fan on Christmas Day is disappointing, considering he is one of the most popular players ever and could still help plenty of teams.
The best years of his career came when he played for the Denver Nuggets and Knicks.
Over 1,260 regular season games, he has averages of 22.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.0 steals per contest.
Earlier this month, ESPN's Malika Andrews caught up with Anthony.
Andrews: "What are your aspirations in terms of the NBA right now?"
Anthony: "I love the game, I will say that. I love the game, but I've realized there's a lot of things that's not in my control. So I just sit back and let it play out, and whatever it's gonna be, it's gonna be, and I accept that. I'm at peace with that."
He also added that he still would love to play and is in the gym every day.
