Amare Stoudemire inducted into Hall of Fame in fitting full-circle Knicks moment

It was fitting that this was the summer in which Amar’e Stoudemire became a Hall of Famer. For a generation of younger fans, he was the first star who made the Knicks relevant again after years of anguish.He was officially inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday night in Springfield, Mass., just more than two months after the Knicks won the championship. At the moment, the Knicks are as relevant as ever.

In many ways, the championship and Stoudemire’s induction completed the long-term journey that he started. “New York, the Garden, there’s nothing like it,” Stoudemire said in his speech.“When you hear MVP chants every night, they’re chanting your name, the arena is rocking, New York is the No.

1 place to play.And I know that as a player.

But before I got there, no one else wanted to go to New York.So that’s why I was like, ‘The Knicks are back, and we’re gonna do this.’ It was good to see those guys win the championship this year.” As a 27-year-old superstar in his prime, Stoudemire signed with the Knicks in 2010 — after the Knicks had just gone 29-53.

That same offseason, LeBron James and Chris Bosh went to the Heat. At the time, stars were avoiding the Knicks and their dysfunction.But Stoudemire, after emerging as one of the league’s best bigs with the Suns, embraced it. “You walked into the Garden when nobody else would,” Carmelo Anthony said in a tribute video posted by the Knicks, “and told the whole league the Knicks was back.” Stoudemire spent four-plus seasons with the Knicks, who made the playoffs his first three seasons with the team — after the franchise had reached the postseason just twice the previous 10 years.

During his first year with the team, he was named to the All-NBA Second Team and set a franchise record by scoring 30 or more points in nine straight games. The Knicks traded for Anthony midway through Stoudemire’s first season with the team.The two led the Kni...