NEW YORK, NY — Tell the world he’s coming home … again. Carmelo Anthony will make his way back to Madison Square Garden this New York Knicks season, albeit in colors beyond the local blue-and-orange.
Now working with NBC’s rebooted NBA coverage, Anthony was back in the big city on Wednesday while speaking at the network’s “Legendary February” event at Rockefeller Center. The showcase allowed the newly minted Hall of Famer to reflect on his new role as a studio analyst for NBC, which is airing its third iteration of NBA coverage.
“Familiar is the game, the actual game itself, understanding the game, how to play the game, how to see the game and talk the game,” Anthony told Knicks X-Factor, comparing his past and present endeavors. “That’s for me, just being in an environment now with a different type of team. Not a basketball team, but a real broadcasting team, with personality, figuring out the takes, and really bonding to bring everybody together to have an insightful conversation. But we also bring the viewer in, bring the fan in, and give them just a fresh way of listening to the game.”
As an analyst, Anthony will be one of several major names commentating for NBC and its streaming app, Peacock, when they take over airing of NBA All-Star Weekend on Feb. 13-15. It’ll unofficially mark Anthony’s 11th All-Star Game appearance, as he made a combined 10 while repping the Knicks and Denver Nuggets.
Coverage of the festivities in Inglewood is one of several major events overseen by 30 Rock, as Super Bowl LX and the Winter Olympics also fall under Peacock’s umbrella next month.
This time, it counts for Anthony, as the legendary scorer appreciates the Association’s latest attempt to add juice to the exhibition. The main event at Intuit Dome will feature two teams of American-born reps facing off against international adversaries in a round-robin setup.
Such a showdown is nothing new for Anthony, who won three Olympic gold medals with Team USA.
“As a broadcaster, I get to really dig deep into what it’s like to actually [be there], what it feels like to be your first All-Star game,” Anthony told Knick X of his broadcasting approach to this year’s game. “We’re now stepping into a new way of playing the All-Star game, the USA vs. the world. It’s like that’s totally different than what the traditional All-Star Game has always been, especially from my first one in 2007. Just being able to get that insight and have some fun and [offer] some clarity on what these athletes really go through will be great.”
Anthony took in the Americans’ latest gold rush during the 2024 Summer Games in Paris from courtside seating, though he could hardly resist engaging in some impromptu coaching as his star-spangled successors faced staunch challenges late in the tournament.
The four-time medalist hinted he wouldn’t be as “active” as he was in Paris, but NBC Sports executive producer Sam Flood hinted that a “good plan” was in store for Anthony on the weekend’s Friday, which hosts the Rising Stars Challenge starring the Association’s top young talents.
Anthony partook in the 2004-05 editions of the event as a respective rookie and sophomore, and NBA legends often serve as honorary coaches of the combatants.
Anthony has been mostly stationed in the Stamford, CT, studio for his new endeavor. He and the rest of the NBC crew will also be stationed at MSG when the Knicks face the Los Angeles Lakers on Feb. 1.
The yearly metropolitan get-together between Seventh Avenue and SoCal will serve as NBC’s debut edition of “Sunday Night Basketball,” which has assembled a batch of sterling weekend-closing games meant to mirror what it has established in the fall with the NFL.
Anthony spoke shortly before the Knicks hosted the Los Angeles Clippers in an attempt to stop a four-game losing streak.
Such struggles have not hampered Anthony’s enthusiasm for those who followed in his sneakers. He previously predicted that the Knicks would finish atop the Eastern Conference during another showcase during the fall.
“They’ll be right,” Anthony said of the modern Knicks. “It’s not broken. They had a couple-game skid. [There are] some things that we need to figure out as a team, some different styles of play and movement, more movement, more ball movement, more relying on set as opposed to just throwing the ball to Jalen (Brunson).
“The continuity of that, and getting back to what we were doing when we had that nice stretch where everybody was saying that the Knicks have a chance to win a championship [will be huge],” Anthony continued. “But it’s also finding who is our Robin any given night? Who’s going to be that second guy on any given night, or third guy for that take, because [Karl-Anthony Towns] is KAT. No matter what, he still gives you 20 and 12; he’s still going to give you that. [Now it’s about] who’s going to be that third option, that third guy to step up on a consistent basis.”
