Carmelo Anthony didn’t want to leave the Denver Nuggets. They had reached the Western Conference Finals in 2009 but couldn’t win. He requested a trade a year later. But there’s much more to it. Melo said that the trade of certain key pieces from the team disappointed him, and he didn’t wish to rebuild after all that he had done so far. His option was to request a trade, and he went to the Knicks. That was a big change. Looking back, he reveals that this locker room change brought in an even bigger change in his career.

In a recent episode of 7PM in Brooklyn, the hosts asked Melo if the show could have existed if he were still playing in the league. He responded no, citing the media as the problem. Reflecting on his career with the Denver Nuggets and New York Knicks, Melo recalled how the market was small in the former, while New York was very different from that. He felt it more personal and less invasive as Melo felt he was growing while Denver — and the media — evolved around him

“When I was in Denver, it was cool. It was a couple of media people in the locker room…so I kind of grew up with that,” he said. However, when he joined the Knicks, it was a very different story. And the media game was more intense than he had imagined. His former teammate suggested that he shouldn’t listen to the news however, that was when he began to observe and study the media.

“I started observing who was what in the in the media scrum, how to approach each individual media personality so they playing the game and you also understand the game that they playing So that’s why I’ve never went back and forth with the media in New York cuz I just knew the game and then I knew the people who was saying it and the people that wasn’t saying it So I was able to navigate that part of learning,” he added. Melo’s relationship with the media was odd at that time. His arrival at the Knicks created a huge hype, but he couldn’t carry the team deep into the playoffs, which led to criticism.

He also added that whether he was upset or not with the media, he ultimately came to respect them. Well, now, he will be taking a new role in the broadcasting world. The 10x NBA All-Star, whose interesting takes on the game are loved by fans, is stepping into a fresh chapter. Now, we’ll see the Knicks legend take his skills to NBC as an analyst.

In many ways, Carmelo’s story mirrors that of every superstar who walks into Madison Square Garden. The jersey may change, but the headlines never do. The city doesn’t just expect skill,  it demands greatness. While Melo is now a big part of the broadcasting world, he doesn’t shy away from sharing his candid takes every now and then.

Carmelo Anthony expressed gratitude to media

In an era where players like Kyrie Irving openly call out the media for “weaponizing narratives” against athletes—especially younger ones—Carmelo Anthony is choosing a different tone. Yes, he’s had his share of clashes with the press. But now, with the vantage point of retirement and a podcast mic of his own, Melo is offering something unexpected: gratitude.

On a recent episode of 7PM in Brooklyn, Melo took a moment to reflect not just on the scrutiny he faced but the value it brought.

“You guys kept me sharp,” he told the media directly. “To understand how to stay ahead of you guys and what you guys was going to ask me.” The statement was a masterclass in reframing criticism as fuel.

What made this even more powerful was its context. Melo contrasted the relative calm of his Denver days, where only a handful of beat writers filled the locker room, with the circus-level chaos in New York. It was there, under the media microscope, that he began decoding the game behind the game: how to read narratives, understand which personalities drove which headlines, and anticipate the storm before it even hit. That “media IQ” has now become one of his strengths as a rising voice in basketball analysis. “I would like to say thank you guys, because you guys was the one as the media and asking those questions,” he said.

He walked into the fire and came out holding the mic. For a player once defined by media tension, his pivot to the media world is poetic. And maybe that’s the truest full-circle moment of all: the very thing that clouded his career in New York is now the platform he’s using to speak his truth