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Carmelo Anthony said Tuesday the next generation of NBA fans in his Brooklyn birthplace will root for the Nets.
"Now, with the young kids that are coming up these days, that’s their team. They grow up under the Brooklyn Nets and that’s their team," Melo told the Bloomberg Sports Business Summit. "We all know from the Jackie Robinson days, that was the last time we actually had something to believe in."
Anthony lived in the Red Hook Homes until age 7 when he moved to Baltimore. He's been part of Knicks marketing efforts in Brooklyn.
"It’s going to be a funny thing to see the kids growing up there, how they convert from Knicks’ fans to Nets’ fans," he said. "The household might be Knicks’ fans and the kids might be Nets’ fans, so it’s a rivalry everywhere, in the households, on the basketball courts, in the streets, in the boroughs. It’s everywhere, and it makes it fun for the game."
The Knicks forward, who has shied away from trash-talking, also said good things about the Nets decision to hire Jason Kidd as coach.
"I love it," Anthony said about the Nets’ move and roster changes. "I think it’s great for sports, I think it’s great for New York and I think it’s great for us as a Knicks’ organization to have somebody that we can compete with on a consistent basis. That is going to be the best rivalry in basketball for a long, long time."
- Knicks’ Anthony Says Club to Lose Brooklyn Borough to Nets’ Fans - Mason Levinson - Bloomberg News
- Carmelo Anthony: Knicks-Nets 'best rivalry in basketball' - Al Iannazzone - Newsday
- Carmelo: Knicks are better than last year - Marc Berman - New York Post
- Carmelo Anthony excited for New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets rivalry - Ian Begley - ESPN New York