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WFormer Knicks teammates Carmelo Anthony and Jeremy Lin said they hashed out 14 years of unanswered questions and false narratives after “Linsanity” took over New York in 2012.
During Friday’s installment of the “7PM in Brooklyn” podcast, Lin — whose rise to fame during the 2011-12 season sparked rumors that Anthony was jealous of his success — explained that the pair had an “honest and direct” conversation and finally reconciled.
“Basically I asked every last question I had: ‘did that happen? What happened there? What happened here?’” Lin said. “But it was honest. It was direct, it was honest and we were able to definitely clear the air. Obviously perception is reality in certain situations.
“… And that’s the thing about that whole stretch was there was a lot that I was unsure about. And so the narratives come, but to be able to talk it out, I appreciate that. And so my biggest thing was when I think back on my career, because I recently retired [last August], I’ve never wanted my story to be me versus anybody else, which we had talked about.
“And I think at the end of all of this, if my name comes up or my story comes up and it’s me versus [Carmelo] or if we’re ever at a point where someone has to choose sides, then I think we failed.”
Anthony, who publicly invited Lin to be a guest on his “7PM In Brooklyn” podcast to “clear the air” last month, explained that it took him some time before he felt ready to answer Lin’s questions.
“These was questions that was built up for 14 years that other people probably was adding on to your pressures and your mindset and your perspective,” Anthony said. “It took me to go through what I went through to have the time to come back and be at peace with being able to answer all your questions with actual facts.”
There were rumblings of a reported feud between the pair during the rise of “Linsanity” after Lin was called up during the 2011-12 season.
At the time, Lin led the Knicks to 10 wins in 13 games when he averaged over 22 points and nine assists.
Anthony was dealing with a groin injury at the time.
“Forget being jealous of what he’s doing, I want him to keep going.”
Melo gets real about the narrative that he envied Jeremy Lin's rise to fame 👀 pic.twitter.com/BVmTEpUImL
Lin’s popularity rose to the point where he couldn’t leave his apartment in New York City without being swarmed by paparazzi, he was the subject of Kim Kardashian dating rumors and he turned down the cover of GQ magazine.
After the 2011-12 season, Anthony made waves when he called Lin’s Houston Rockets contract offer — three years and $25 million — “ridiculous,” which led to reports that he was jealous of Lin’s fast success and it was disrupting what he was trying to build in New York.
Anthony addressed his “ridiculous” remark, saying that Lin deserved for the Knicks to match his offer from Houston instead of letting him walk over luxury tax concerns.
“You got to think from my perspective, everything kind of came and went so fast and now I’m not on the Knicks anymore,” Lin said on the “7PM in Brooklyn,” a Wave Original. “And after that, I hear publicly a coach saying something and three teammates saying stuff publicly about like, ‘Oh, Linsanity didn’t vibe with everybody in the locker room.’ And so I’m like, ‘You got to think, Melo, I’m hearing this and I’m trying to piece together the story.’”
Anthony also pushed back on the narrative that he was jealous of Lin during “Linsanity.”
“I had to figure my s–t. I was injured. I was hurt,” Anthony said of the “Linsanity” era. “I had to think about how fast I’m going to come back, what I’m going to do, how the f–k I’m going to go help this team, how I got to lead this team.
“I’m in a different position than [Jeremy] is. So I got to deal with a whole bunch of s–t. Forget being jealous of what [Jeremy’s] doing. I want him to keep going. Game win in D.C. Yo, keep going. Toronto. Yo, keep going.”
Melo reveals why he called Jeremy Lin's contract extension 'ridiculous' 😳 @FDSportsbook
Melo: "Did he deserve the match, yes … what was ridiculous was the jump."
Lin: "My exit from the New York Knicks crushed me … I would've done anything to stay." pic.twitter.com/GZUnjbHPT3
Lin and Anthony reconciled as the Knicks are one win away from their first championship in 53 years.
Both have supported their former team throughout the Knicks’ playoff run.
Lin, who announced his retirement from professional basketball in an Instagram post last August, is a guest NBA analyst with ESPN for the 2026 NBA Finals.
Carmelo, who announced his retirement in 2023 following 19 NBA seasons, is an NBA analyst with NBC.
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