Slights keep adding fuel to Anthony’s fire on the court
LAS VEGAS — Cole Anthony had just buried a buzzer-beater against the Grizzlies, the second thrilling game-winner of his rookie season. He gestured toward the home crowd in Orlando, yelling, “I do that s---,” which segued to a viral postgame interview.
“I wanted an iso,” Anthony said after that May victory, swaying with his headset. “I knew if I got somebody on an island they wasn’t going to be safe.”
Call it confidence. Call it New York swag. Whatever the term, it’s dripping off Anthony.
The Archbishop Molloy product dribbles with a grudge, forged in self-belief and feelings of disrespect. He’s carrying it into his second season with the Magic.
“One-hundred percent,” Anthony, 21, said in an interview with the Daily News. “It’s still 14 dudes in that draft that was picked ahead of me. I take that personally.”
Anthony was, not too long ago, anointed the next great New York City basketballer, ranking as the nation’s top point guard of the 2019 high school class with a famous father, Greg, who played with the Knicks in the ’90s.
But Anthony underwhelmed during an injury-riddled season at North Carolina, dropping from a surefire top-5 pick to out of the lottery. The Knicks were among the 14 teams to pass on Anthony, choosing Obi Toppin ninth overall instead.
Whether that’s a regrettable decision for the Knicks or others remains undetermined, but Anthony outperformed his draft position last season while averaging 12.9 points with 4.7 assists and 4.1 rebounds.
“I thought I had a pretty solid season,” Anthony said.
Still, as the Magic traded away veterans and plunged to league’s third-worst record, Anthony thought his game wasn’t properly recognized. He felt deserving of the Rookie of the Month award in April, which went instead to Toronto’s Malachi Flynn, as awarded by the league. Then he was left off the NBA’s All-Rookie teams, with the media voting him 12th, two spots out of Second Team.
“I was (snubbed). It’s a fact,” Anthony told the News. “I don’t know what the vendetta is against me that’s going out there right now. First I got snubbed for Rookie of the Month, then snubbed for All-Rookie. So I just deal with it. Control what I can control.”
Next season the Magic is projected as one of the NBA’s worst teams, with an excessively young roster after the departures of Nikola Vucevic and Evan Fournier. Anthony has a battle to maintain his starting spot, which opened last season because of the injury to former first overall pick Markelle Fultz. There’s also the addition of point guard Jalen Suggs, the fifth overall pick last month.
Orlando was pegged 28th in ESPN’s Power Rankings for 2021-22, ahead of only the Thunder and Rockets.
“They don’t know what they’re talking about,” Anthony said. “We have a great chance to be a good team in the East. I think ultimately we can be a playoff team. It’s about staying healthy, though.”
Confidence is oozing out of Anthony, a trait he developed playing ball in NYC.
“It makes you tougher. Everyone who comes to New York kind of has a chip on their shoulder, playing like I’m better than the guy standing next to me,” he said. “It’s a mentality that I take with me everywhere I go, no matter what I’m doing.”
SUMMER LEAGUE SCENES
Monty McCutchen’s pandemic beard would’ve made Hagrid from Hogwarts jealous. But after his appearance on TV turned into a viral moment, the NBA’s vice president of referee training emerged in Vegas with only stubble. Asked about the new look, McCutchen, a longtime referee, responded, “I got a call.” When did the NBA turn into the Yankees?
DINWIDDIE UPDATE
We briefly caught up with Spencer Dinwiddie, who is a lot wealthier these days and attended Sunday’s games in Vegas. Dinwiddie is excited about his teaming up with Bradley Beal in Washington, but also expressed disappointment in how the Nets handled his negotiations. Gearing up for a career payday after years at a discount, the Nets tried to get Dinwiddie to play next season on his $12.3 million player option, he said. Brooklyn could’ve exceeded the cap to re-sign the guard with Bird Rights, but Dinwiddie said the team made him look bad for asking for a large contract. He ultimately signed with the Wizards for three years, $62 million. And what about his surgically-repaired knee? “That’s all the way back,” he said.
GETTING IGGY WITH IT
Remember Iggy Brazdeikis? Two years ago, the wing was drafted 47th overall by the Knicks and starred in Summer League. His opportunity with the main club never really arrived, however, and Brazdeikis was traded after playing just 13 games with the Knicks. He resurfaced with the Magic and is playing in Summer League, believing the frustrations with the Knicks were just a bump in a long NBA career. “It was tough for me not playing in New York. Especially because I know I’m an NBA player, I know I’m an impact NBA player,” Brazdeikis told the Daily News. “So it was definitely tough, but there’s a bigger plan for everything.”
CONCEDING TO THE VET?
When first-round pick Quentin Grimes first signed with the Knicks, he was introduced with a No. 8 jersey. “Man, that looks great,” he told the team’s website. But Grimes arrived in Summer League rocking No. 6, which can only mean one thing: Grimes is giving No. 8 to Kemba Walker, who wore that number in Boston. We’ll see. Walker switched to No. 8 after playing with No. 15 for eight years in Charlotte.