Looking back at Carmelo Anthony’s Hall of Fame career in the NBA.
After playing 19 seasons in the NBA, Carmelo Anthony has decided to call it a career. Anthony entered the league in 2003 in what was considered to be one of the greatest and most promising draft classes of all time. LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane were all members of that same class and Anthony will someday be joined by his fellow classmates as they all are sure to be enshrined in Springfield.
Reflecting back on Anthony’s career, it’s bittersweet because you always hope that a player of his caliber gets an opportunity to play for a championship at least once in his career. Even though Anthony was drafted by the Denver Nuggets who happened to have the 3rd overall selection in that 2003 draft, that draft will always be looked upon as a missed opportunity for the Detroit Pistons as they opted for Darko Milicic with the 2nd pick.
Even though the Pistons went on to win the NBA championship that same season, it still has to linger through the minds of the people who were in the Pistons’ front office when that decision was made and the potential dynasty they could have had.
The closest Anthony ever got to winning a title was the epic battle had had against Kobe Bryant and the LA Lakers in the 2009 WCF. Despite never making a Finals appearance Anthony is arguably one of the greatest small forwards of all time and one of the greatest players of his generation. He was a true offensive juggernaut with superb footwork who didn’t need much separation in order to get his shot off.
Even though Bryant and the Lakers came out on top in that series, Bryant went on to admit that Anthony was the toughest player he ever had to guard.
It’s good to see the well-deserved recognition Anthony has received since he officially announced his retirement and many will agree that never winning a title will tarnish Anthony’s legacy but while everyone is entitled to their own opinion, I disagree. Anthony became a legend and sometimes becoming a legend is more than about winning rings.
Anthony will be remembered for becoming an inspirational player to many of the players in the NBA today as well as many up-and-coming players. Just watching Anthony’s maturation process from his rookie year as he transitioned into a superstar was inspirational. It’s sad that he really didn’t get to go out the way he should have.
Had he never missed a few seasons for no good reason, Anthony will more than likely have moved into the top 5 all-time scorers but still 9th place on that list speaks volumes about how good a player has to be offensively and the longevity and consistency it takes just to crack the top 25 on that all-time list.
Some of Anthony’s accolades and greatest accomplishments were being named an NBA All-Star 10 times, an All-NBA team selection seven times, won a scoring title during the 2012-13 season, has 36 games in which he scored 40-plus points, became a 4-time Olympic medalist and broke the Olympic single-game records for points with 37, 3-point field goals made with 10 and most free throws made with 13 total.
Despite any of his failures or shortcomings, it’s a time to celebrate Melo and the legacy he has made. He is an all-time elite player who deserves his flowers. He was one of the greatest offensive players ever to grace the league. What really stood out about Melo was the positivity and humbleness he displayed when he was forced to sit out two seasons because no team would take a chance on him but his willingness to accept a lesser role ended up prolonging his playing career.
I think people forget just how lethal Melo was during his prime. Easily one of the best pure shooters in league history, Melo was equipped with one of the prettiest and smoothest jump shots you could imagine seeing.
Despite the lack of team accomplishments in his career, Melo could lead a team on any given night and even though his individual accolades stand out more than what he accomplished on the respective teams he played for, Melo should be remembered as a player who refused to quit and left everything he had on the floor.