September 23, 2025
The NBA Hall of Famer offered to to pay the “whole salary” of his Knick teammate, Cleanthony Early, when the team cut him
NBA Hall of Famer Carmelo Anthony’s generosity and kindness were recently brought up by an NBA reporter when he recalled the former Knicks player offering to pay the “whole salary” of a teammate, Cleanthony Early, when he was on the cusp of being cut by the NBA team.
While appearing in a recent interview, reporter Ian Begley, who was working for ESPN at the time of the witnessed incident, spoke highly about Anthony and the fact that, unprompted, he was willing to take care of Early’s annual salary when it looked like the Knicks were willing to cut him from the team in 2016.
According to Basketball Network, after an incident that took place in front of a New York City strip club in December 2015, Early, while leaving CityScapes Gentleman’s Club with his girlfriend, six men, armed with weapons, surrounded an Uber vehicle that the Knicks player was in. Threatening to shoot him in the midst of robbing him, although he gave up two gold chains, Early was shot in the knee.
Referencing that incident, Begley spoke about Anthony’s gesture to Early when word got out about the Knicks’ intention.
“Remember Cleanthony Early? He got caught up in something, a strip club, I don’t remember the details, but I think the Knicks were going to have to cut him. Carmelo said, ‘I’ll pay your whole salary.’ Like just as a teammate, as an NBA brother,” Begley stated.
He spoke about how that painted a positive picture of Anthony during Early’s time of need. The reporter acknowledged that, despite all the accolades bestowed upon Anthony, this offer stuck in his mind.
“That, to me, told me a lot about him, too, where he puts his energy. You can’t like… You talk about him as a basketball player, flaws, pros and cons, but just as a man and what he stands for, that will always stay with me,” Begley said.
After Early’s injuries, the baller has played in Europe and the Middle East.
Anthony was recently inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
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