The Atlanta Hawks Had a Little Fun With Carmelo Anthony’s Retirement

Carmelo Anthony announced his retirement on Monday after a 19-year NBA career. The future Hall of Famer hadn’t played since he was a part of the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2021-22 season. Well wishes came in from around the NBA following the announcement, including from a place you wouldn’t expect: the Atlanta Hawks.

The Hawks posted the following after the announcement:

You may be asking why the Hawks have a jersey with Anthony’s name on it, since he never played for them. Well, funny story…

Anthony played for the Oklahoma city Thunder during the 2017-18 season. At the conclusion of the campaign, the Thunder traded Anthony and a first-round pick to the Hawks as part of a three-team deal that brought them Dennis Schroder and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot. Mike Muscala went to the Philadelphia 76ers and Justin Anderson also joined the Hawks. It was a straight cost-cutting move for the Thunder, shedding Anthony’s contract (and a massive luxury tax bill) and giving up a first-rounder to do so.

Five days later, Anthony and the Hawks agreed to a contract buyout and he became a free agent. He wound up signing a one-year, $2.4 million deal with the Houston Rockets.

So, yes, in fact, Carmelo Anthony was a member of the Atlanta Hawks. For five days. Five glorious days.

Anthony was a 10-time All-Star and retires as the No. 9 scorer in NBA history. He also owns three gold medals (and a bronze we don’t like to talk about) from his time playing for Team USA at four Olympics.