Carmelo Anthony reveals trash talk moment that let him know it was time to retire

There comes a point in every professional athlete's career when they realize it's time to retire. For some, it takes a while to register and for former Knicks star Carmelo Anthony, it happened during a game.

While on his podcast, 7 PM in Brooklyn, alongside co-host The Kid Mero and recently retired NBA Player Rudy Gay, Anthony shared the moment in a game that made him realize he was closer to retirement

"I wanted to get away from the game the minute that one of these young f***s started saying s**t. They started saying vintage... The worst is I ain’t know you still had that." 

He adds, "We playing Denver... This the first time I played Denver in a long time. Going back, Michael Porter is guarding me. I catch him on like the right elbow and just like catch it post quick jab go left and lay it up. He like ‘damn Unc, I ain’t know you still had that.'"

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Michael Porter Jr. sent Carmelo Anthony into retirement

For Melo, the comment may have served as a wake-up call. Being called unc (uncle) was a stark reminder that Father Time was undefeated, how much the game had changed, and how much younger the league was.

To add insult to injury, it came from a player on a team he started his career within the Denver Nuggets, which made the moment stand out. Though Anthony was solid during the twilight of his career, it was clear he wasn't the same player he had been years before.

Luckily, Melo had a fruitful career playing 19 seasons in the NBA, taking home a scoring title, multiple All-Star and All-NBA nods, a spot on the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team and almost certainly an eventual nomination to the Hall of Fame.