What If The Knicks Drafted Steph Curry? Carmelo Anthony Wonders What Could Have Been

Back in 2009, Carmelo Anthony was winding down his stint with the Denver Nuggets. That same year, a skinny Davidson guard by the name of Steph Curry was selected seventh overall in the NBA Draft.

Anthony would land with the New York Knicks two years later, while Curry continues to torch the nets for the Golden State Warriors to this day. What if the Knicks, who were reportedly eyeing Curry with their eighth overall pick, had the good fortune of drafting the second-generation athlete and pairing him with Anthony?

The Basketball Hall of Famer pondered this thought in a recent episode of his “7 PM in Brooklyn” podcast. “In ‘09, if he’s drafted by the Knicks, they have their centerpiece of the organization,” Anthony said of Curry.

Anthony, who spent seven seasons with the Knicks, recalled the challenges faced by Curry early in his career. “Mind you, nobody knew Steph was gonna be this Steph. Everybody was counting him out. He was injury-prone. He couldn’t play.”

Indeed, the first years of Curry in Golden State were rocked by ankle and foot injuries that threatened to dampen his potential in the NBA. Nevertheless, Anthony remained confident that Curry would have found success if he had joined the Knicks squad of the early 2010s.

That team came to include Anthony, A’mare Stoudemire, and JR Smith, veterans who could light up the scoreboard in a variety of ways. Coincidentally, Smith made a guest appearance on that “7 PM’ episode, and he pointed out that their team had another good thing going their way.

“You missin’ something?” Smith said with a sly smile. “Who’s running the show?”

Bursting in laughter, Anthony assured Smith that he understood the reference. Smith was talking about Donnie Walsh, the highly respected Knicks GM who assembled the well-balanced team of that era. Taking Walsh and his other teammates into consideration, Anthony made his pronouncement for Curry’s prospects in New York.

“We winnin’ the championship with Donnie Walsh!” Anthony said.

In an alternate world, the Warriors would have taken someone else with the seventh pick, leaving the Knicks to draft the highly coveted guard who would shake the NBA to its core with his revolutionary outside shooting. This isn’t how reality played out, but the scenario of a Curry-Anthony pairing is certainly a scary thought.