SAN FRANCISCO – A formality was made official Friday night when Carmelo Anthony, arguably the greatest Knick since Patrick Ewing, was named a finalist for the Naismith Hall of Fame.
And as he took that step closer to the orange jacket on his first ballot, Anthony received a strong endorsement from the legendary executive who had to face the forward throughout his career.
“He’s one of the great players, ever. Really,” Pat Riley, the Miami Heat president, said in an interview with The Post. “A tough guard. Can shoot. Good size. Athletic. And carried a franchise in Denver for a long time, went to New York. Always a tough cover so you had to game plan for him every night. And had a great career.
“I think from the standpoint of what they call small forwards, he wasn’t just that. He can play small forward, sure. He can play power forward. Back then, we were more positional. He could play the two-guard. Today, he’d be playing 5. That’s just the way the game has grown. But he deserves it. I hope he makes it.”
Anthony is a shoe-in for the class of 2025, with the inductees enshrined on April 5 in Springfield, Mass.
He ranks No. 10 in the NBA in career points, ahead of Moses Malone and just behind Kevin Durant and Shaquille O’Neal.
He’s also a 10-time All-Star, including six appearances with the Knicks.
The biggest hole in Melo’s resume is no NBA championship rings.
Riley, a nine-time NBA champion in various roles, can’t relate but understands it shouldn’t prohibit a Hall of Fame induction.
Anthony, after all, took on the burden of leading the Knicks when the franchise was in dark days and had little help for most of his 6 ½ seasons.
“Welcome to the big time,” Riley said. “So you have to accept it. You can’t run away from it. So I think he always accepted that. It was probably frustrating for him at times because he didn’t win in some of those years.
“When you’re the face of the franchise, there’s great expectations. And I think that’s part of what the Hall of Fame is about. I think they take that into account. Doesn’t make any difference. John Stockton, Karl Malone, Carmelo, Charles Barkley. They had the pressure on them all the time. And they’re all Hall of Famers. Did they win the chip? No. But it didn’t make any difference. They’re being recognized for what they did in their careers.”
Riley’s team won the championship in Anthony’s best season with the Knicks in 2012-13, when the Mike Woodson-coached construction won 54 regular season games while going 3-1 against the Heat.
It was set up for a New York-Miami conference final before the Knicks were upset in the second round by the Pacers.
Was Riley worried about facing the Knicks in those playoffs? Not really.
“When you get that far, in 2013, with LeBron and D-Wade and Chris Bosh and Shane Battier and Ray Allen – I’ll take my chances,” Riley said.
Melo’s HOF candidacy is further boosted by his NCAA title with Syracuse and three Olympic gold medals.
He was Team USA’s all-time leading Olympic scorer until Durant broke the record last year.
“He was cut out to be a great international player,” Jerry Colangelo, the former director of USA Basketball, told The Post. “The nuances of the international game, the 3-point distance is a little bit less. The pace of the game was perfect for him. And with his great skill of scoring, we went to him a lot. He had the ability to shoot anytime he wanted to. Because most of the time he’s going to score. He had a few games where, in my mind, he didn’t miss any shots. Loved his competitiveness. He was great in our system. I think he made other people better. And he was committed all the way.”
All the way to the Hall of Fame.
Buck Williams, whose jersey is retired by the Nets, was finally named a finalist for the Hall of Fame, nearly 27 years after he retired.
The bruising power forward, a rebounding and defensive specialist, joined Anthony as one of four finalists as NBA players.
The others are Dwight Howard and Marques Johnson.
Among the nominees who weren’t named finalists included Amar’e Stoudemire, World B Free, Robert Horry, Tom Chambers and Reggie Theus.
Williams, who also played for the Knicks, ranks 16th in career NBA rebounds, just below Hakeem Olajuwon and Shaquille O’Neal.
The non-NBA player finalists from Friday’s announcement included Billy Donovan (coach), Mark Few (coach), Sue Bird (WNBA), Maya Moore (WNBA) and Micky Arison (NBA owner).
