Carmelo Anthony can’t wait for Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden, as he watches Jalen Brunson and the rest of the New York Knicks receive their long-awaited NBA title rings, and even better, watching a banner fly to the rafters for the first time in 53 years.
In fact, Anthony, who will be working the NBC Sports desk as part of their NBA crew, has to stop himself from prepping like he’s the one on the court wearing his No. 7 jersey again for the Knicks.
“A game like tomorrow – opening night, ring night, banner night. Like right now, I’m preparing myself to get ready for the game like I’m about to go play,” he told OutKick, while highlighting his partnership with DraftKings ahead of the 2026-27 NBA season.
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“And I have to pinch myself, like, ‘Yo bro, you ain’t getting back out there. You’re good on this side.’ Just the fact that I can still be in tuned to the game of basketball like that, and more importantly, to moments and still feel what those moments actually feel like.
“I can imagine what will be going through those guys’ minds tomorrow, the adrenaline that will be pumping through them. Because winning one is a dream – we all dream of winning one. You don’t play this game without dreaming of winning a championship.”
This past summer felt like a dream for millions of New Yorkers and others in the surrounding area who were all pulling for the Knicks to break their championship drought. It felt like destiny, from the OG Anunoby tip-in to win Game 4 against the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals, to the other key moments in their playoff run that Anthony and many other former Knicks had great seats for at The Garden.
But now, Anthony knows what comes with the title territory: everyone is hunting for the crown.
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“Defending it is a job,” Anthony said. “So, nobody’s sneaking up on anybody anymore. That banner is going up there and the target goes on [the backs of the Knicks] instantly. Every team is going to circle the Knicks on the schedule, so that price of being champs in New York. You better embrace it and it’s going to be a fun ride.”
The ride this past season was one Anthony didn’t want to get off. He admitted watching the team at first felt like he was a player all over again – until he realized he needed to just enjoy the moment like the rest of his peers and all Knicks fans hoping things would end with the Larry O’Brien Trophy being hoisted.
“I was putting myself into those moments and kind of thinking from a mental standpoint like, ‘What would I do here? What play?’ I was playing those games in my head, and then after a while I was like, ‘No, Melo, what are you doing? Just be a fan,’” he said. “So, I started to turn that part of my brain off and operating that way. To be a fan of basketball and the New York Knicks and of the players that were out there representing. It’s a beautiful thing, because as a former player, I love those moments. I live for those moments. The tip-in was like – ah! That was a moment! Jalen Brunson’s three was a moment. So, I understand what the Garden feels like in those moments, but that moment right there was special.”
A new season brings new opportunity for not just the Knicks, but every NBA team hoping this will be their year. The Knicks have the crown, but teams like the Philadelphia 76ers, who will have LeBron James and Jaylen Brown suiting up for their first regular-season game with them in Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night, gunning for the title.
“When you know you have the crown, you’re not going to let anybody knock that crown off,” Anthony said. “No matter what we gotta do, no matter how we gotta do it, no matter how hard it is to maintain this crown, we gotta do what we gotta do. And I think that’s the mentality coming into this season. Also, I think each individual player had to get better at something and get stronger in their weaknesses this offseason. If they did that, again, that’s the championship mindset.
“If they’re coming back like that, New York is the team to beat.”
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STAYING MELO WITH DRAFTKINGS
While Anthony is looking forward to what the Knicks do this season, he’s excited for his partnership with DraftKings and being a part of its campaign ahead of the season.
“We got a great campaign, man. Myself, Kevin Hart, Nick Jonas. We really came together, and I got to give a shoutout to DraftKings and that creative team for putting that concept together,” he said. “The beauty in that is the fact that we can have more fun with DraftKings because it’s in all 50 states now, which is major. I just love the fact that more people are involved, and more people can have fun with the game of basketball in this sense, and just sports in general. I love that.”
Anthony called it a “beautiful thing” being able to work alongside Hart and Jonas for the campaign, which he is excited for fans to see.
With DraftKings available in all 50 states, the campaign revolves around Hart and Jonas traveling throughout the country, where car troubles can happen. As the tow truck figures out their situation, Anthony is waiting with his own car problems in the clip as he tries to get the word out about DraftKings.