Steve Novak claims NBA superstars are responsible for role players: “Not a lot of people that can carry that weight”
The NBA and its followers have all the time celebrated stars, however role gamers are usually those who decide how far superstars and their groups can really go. Among probably the most precious of role gamers, particularly within the league at the moment, are the sharpshooters.
Their role sounds easy on paper — hit open pictures — however in actuality, it relies upon closely on who creates the alternatives. And for Steve Novakthroughout his time with the New York Knicksthe famous person was Carmelo Anthonywho drew defenses round him each recreation, permitting role gamers like him to thrive.
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Dependent on one another
Novak was one of the league’s most harmful shooters within the 2010s, succesful of swinging momentum with a well timed 3-pointer, particularly underneath the brilliant lights of Madison Square Garden. His clutch capturing made him a fan favourite in New York, however on the “7 PM in Brooklyn” podcast, Novak instructed Anthony that none of it could have been attainable with out him.
“I was open because of Melo. And just think it’s this crazy dynamic where I feel like throughout your career, you always need great teammates. You need guys to be better,” Novak said.
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“I just don’t think people understand like that shift that happens where the weight that you had every game,” I’ve continued. ““I don’t think people understand like you were responsible for me, Landry Fields, Jared Jeffries, and there’s not a lot of people that can carry that weight.”
At his peak, Anthony was a harmful isolation scorer who would all the time appeal to double groups within the publish or collapse defenses as he drove via the paint. It was what made him a deadly scorer, but it surely additionally opened the ground for shooters like Novak, who have been prepared when defenses made the flawed alternative.
“I need Melo. It’s like you think you needed for so long, guys to help you become the superstar and to look for you,” Novak shared. “I needed Melo in order to be good. And so like the responsibility of the superstars I play with, like the Giannises, the Melos, the KDs. the Dirks, the Timmy Duncans.”
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Aside from Anthony, Novak additionally had the privilege of enjoying with a number of superstars throughout his journeyman profession, from Dirk Nowitzki in dallas to even Giannis Antetokounmpo within the final years of his profession at Milwaukee. He had a front-row seat to how a lot stress superstars soak up in each recreation and the way a lot they assist role gamers get to their spots and contribute to the workforce.
Novak and Melo’s Knicks legacies
Novak’s sentiment highlights one thing that has lengthy been true within the league: nice role gamers blossom after they earn the belief of stars. It’s evident all through historical past, reminiscent of when Steve Kerr and John Paxson delivered game-winning pictures for Michael Jordan, or when Robert Horry hit iconic game-winning pictures as a result of everybody was too targeted on his famous person teammates.
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It was the identical with Novak and Anthony on a smaller scale. Both trusted each other, so that when double groups got here for Anthony, the 6’10 sharpshooter was all the time open, able to take the shot.
There is a lengthy lineage of sharpshooting role gamers who’ve all the time captured the love, and even anger, of fanbases throughout the league. Novak is one of them, and he says it solely labored as a result of a famous person like Anthony took on the workforce’s weight first.
This story was initially printed by Basketball Network on May 20, 2026, the place it first appeared within the Latest News part. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.