Image via Complex Original
You lose a little sympathy for New York Knicks fans once you realize that not only did they choose to root for the Knicks, but that they are willing to stick with the annually ailing team. They can choose to cheer for someone else to save themselves the pain; the Nets at least offer the hope to see four more games each season.
Carmelo Anthony also made the choice to stick with the Knicks, but unlike fans, he's contractually obligated to show up. The match is fitting, though. Anthony and the Knicks are kind of like kindred spirits in how they both keep making tons of money while well on their way to being washed.
That sort of bad luck/curse has followed Anthony since the days he was rocking braids. There's not much positive you can say about having Allen Iverson on your squad and somehow never making it past the first round—mostly because The Answer no longer had the answers. Carmelo Anthony has never had a lot of help, and as you can surmise from the title, Allen Iverson wasn't the only great who left their greatness behind when they joined Melo. Let's look at the rest. Sadly, these are The 10 Best Players Carmelo Anthony Ever Played With.
Allen Iverson
Years Played: 2006–08
Allen Iverson, fed up with the underachieving Sixers, was finally traded to the Nuggets. He definitely wasn't completely washed when he donned the baby blue; he entered as the No. 2 leading scorer in the league behind Melo. However, he was definitely somewhere deep in the rinse cycle.
Iverson's scoring average took a dip in his two full seasons in Denver, but he became the team's leading scorer in the second. The combo was a bust. Having two of the millennium's most lethal offensive (and allegedly selfish) weapons was only good for a 50-win season at best. These dudes never even made it out of the first round of the playoffs. So Anthony and Iverson weren't a dynamic duo, with the legendary 2001 days well behind The Answer.
Jason Kidd
Years Played: 2012-13
Although the Brooklyn Nets may be too petty to admit it, Jason Kidd is one of the GOATs when it comes to his position. The man is No. 2 all-time when it comes to assists and steals—seconded only by the gawd John Stockton. Yeah, the Eastern Conference was still pretty soft in the early '00s, but leading your team (in this case, the Nets) to two consecutive Finals deserves props.
Kidd's scoring numbers decreased, but of course, that was never his focus. He kept giving dimes consistently throughout his career, and finally got his ring against the Big Three Heat in 2010-11. Kidd didn't have much more to prove when he signed with the Knicks, which explains why he basically just filled up the roster for that last season. And did shit like this:
Chauncey Billups
Years Played: 2008-2011
Sometimes Anthony really needed a great point guard. He got one in Billups—but the cruel joke is that he was a past his prime. He could still make those big shots and read his opponents well, but that acuity slightly took a dip at Denver.
Still, it seemed like trading Iverson for Billups was a good move. With Billups' help, Anthony was finally able to advance past the first round and into the Western Conference Finals for the first time of his career. That run was still headed by Anthony, though; he was balling with 27.2 points per game during that playoff run.
Andre Miller
Years Played: 2003–06
Yes, Andre Miller is somehow in the league, even though he looks more like that uncle running late to project summer barbecues than a basketball player when he's out of uniform. The game isn't about looks, though; the reason Miller is still in the league is because he's been remarkably consistent in his averageness throughout his 16-year career. He's an old man on court, but also a dignified old man on court—one who's ninth all-time for assists. Miller has made it to the playoffs the same number of times as Anthony (10, although Miller was rarely, if ever, the leading factor), and making it past the first round is almost as much of a rarity.
J.R. Smith
Years Played: 2006-2015
Unlike pretty much everybody on this list, Smith found his fire when got with Anthony. Swish reunited with his former Nuggets teammate in New York and quickly became a fan favorite for his mythical turn-up abilities, a Sixth Man of the Year season and doing shit like this.
That 2012-13 season was pretty much a one-hit wonder, though. His field goal percentage dipped, and he fell backwards onto LeBron James and Co.'s lap en route to his first Finals. To Smith's credit, he has been doing his part in that deep Cleveland bench. In Game 1 of the Cavs' “series” against the Hawks, Smith set the tone with his 28-point, 10-for-16 performance.
Mike Bibby
Years Played: 2011-12
In his prime, Mike Bibby was a key component of the deadly Kings' offense of the early to mid-00s. That combination of Peja Stojakovic's three ball, Chris Webber's constant talents in the paint, and Vlade Divac's post play doesn't work as well without Bibby facilitating or being a clutch performer in his own right.
The Knicks didn't get any of that when Bibby slid on over for his 2011-12. That was his last season and he went out like a wet match, averaging 2.6 points and 2.1 assists per game.
Rasheed Wallace
Years Played: 2012-13
Rasheed Wallace has been on the wrong side of the one of the NBA Playoffs' most famous shots, is the all-time leader in technical fouls, and just came from a noticeably short tenure as the Pistons' assistant coach. But come on, guys. This is 'Sheed. Wallace, before his terrible days in Boston, was one of the most consistently entertaining guys in the league with his eccentric personality and athleticism in the post.
Wallace won his only championship in 2004 with the Pistons after beating the Lakers, which was payback for when Kobe and Shaq terrorized him during his Blazers years. Did this make him a powerful teammate for Melo? No. The Ball don't lie; jewelry does. Wallace's basketball IQ may've been still there when he came to the Knicks, but his body just wasn't fucking with him.
Amar'e Stoudemire
Years Played: 2011-15
Stoudemire became one of the most notable examples of the Knicks curse. During his prime at Phoenix, Stoudemire was a consistent offensive threat made even more dangerous with Steve Nash at the 1. With the Knicks (and for a five-year/$100 million contract), Stoudemire became a shell of his former self because of knees that seemed made up of paper mache rather than human cartilage. He got some of his game back during his later months in New York, but eventually got lucky by getting waived last season. Stoudemire earned the right to extend his season for four more games by signing with the Mavericks and getting blown away in the first round.
Kenyon Martin
Years Played: 2013-14
Martin has always been a solid addition to an NBA squad because of his presence in the paint on both sides of the court. He was consistently putting up numbers on the scoreboard during his heyday and was (too) physical with his opponents on defense. Anthony was probably expecting more of that when Martin signed with the Knicks—he was a pretty big help during their Nuggets days.
But nah: After slipping downhill during his year with the Clippers, Martin definitely didn't relieve his glory years at Madison Square Garden. He was last seen somehow still getting game checks from the Bucks.
Tyson Chandler
Years Played: 2013–2014
The Knicks actually got a little something from Chandler when they signed him to a four-year deal in 2011, right after he won his first championship with the Mavericks. He was plugging up whatever interior holes New York had with his strong defensive presence. Plus his offense, while unspectacular, was efficient; his 67.9 field goal percentage during that first season was the third-highest in NBA history. However, you can only be a key big man on the Knicks for so long until you get plagued with injuries. Chandler missed a few weeks thanks to a fractured fibula in 2013, and was spared this season after being traded to the Mavericks last June. Still, with a Defensive Player of the Year title and the Knicks' first playoff series win in since 2000, he may have been Melo's most effective teammate to date.