ORLANDO, Fla. — During the 2020 pre-draft process, Cole Anthony hoped the Knicks would keep him in Manhattan.
He consulted Kemba Walker, the point guard from The Bronx who then was still with the Celtics.
“I talked to Kemba a little bit before I was drafted,” Anthony said at the Magic’s morning shootaround Friday. “I wanted to pick his brain. We’re both from New York. I just wanted to see what it takes to be successful. I’d say he’s done really, really well for himself. So I just wanted to pick his brain and get a little bit of knowledge from him.”
Anthony was bypassed by the Knicks, who took power forward Obi Toppin with the No. 8-overall pick. Anthony, who grew up in Manhattan as the son of ex-Knick Greg Anthony, fell to Orlando with the 15th pick.
Now in his second season, Anthony will have a Friday-night showdown against Walker, who wound up signing with the Knicks this offseason after being bought out by the Thunder.
“I get up to play every team but there’s something there, it’s the home team, it’s where I’m from,” said Anthony, who played at Archbishop Molly before a one-and-done season at North Carolina. “I want to beat them.”
For the Magic, Anthony started on opening night in San Antonio in a tandem with rookie lottery pick Jalen Suggs. It was a modest rookie season for Anthony, who needs to improve his 3-point shooting. In San Antonio, Anthony was 1-for-7 from 3-point range after shooting 33 percent from deep his rookie year.
Anthony, 21, said he feels different this season and the game has slowed down for him. The Magic will visit the Garden on Sunday to cpomplete the home-and-home with the Knicks. Anthony recalled his first visit to MSG as a kid — and it became a little too eventful.
“I was 7 years old,” Anthony said. “Me and my dad were sitting courtside and the Knicks were playing. They were about to go on a run, and I remember being on the sideline and I got mad hyped. I was hyped on the sidelines. I knocked a drink onto the floor and stopped the game. And then they lost the game and I think they ended up blaming the loss on me and my dad.”