Carmelo Anthony is scheduled to be inducted into the Nice Miss Basketball Hall of Fame on September 6th, along with NBA star Dwight Howard.
Although he did not win a championship in 19 seasons, Carmelo Anthony is always remembered as one of the most elite scorers in the game.
Even before he arrived in the NBA, Anthony was a common name because of what he did in Syracuse.
Melo led Syracuse to the sole NCAA Championship, winning 22.2 PPG and grabbed 10 rebounds in the tournament.
His game moved well into the NBA, with Anthony being a franchise player for the Denver Nuggets under George Carl.
They never managed to win the championship, but together they helped the Nuggets become one of the best teams in the Western Conference.
Despite all his contributions to the Nuggets, Carl never missed the opportunity to shoot a shot at Anthony after a stint with the team.
Anthony’s best day in the NBA featured the Nuggets and the New York Knicks.
He led the league in scoring with the Knicks and had some playoff runs with the Nuggets,
However, Carl and Phil Jackson criticized Anthony’s game for his lack of defensive solidity.
Boeheim was Syracuse’s coach when Mello won the championship and was also part of the set up for Team USA, which won the gold medal alongside him.
In an interview with Sportkida’s Mark Medina, Boeheim shared his thoughts on what he felt about the criticism directed at Anthony.
The 80-year-old said, “Well, what I think about the NBA is that he made all his teams better than them. Whether it’s Denver or the Knicks, he made them better.
“They had to stand up against the Lakers and the Spurs in Denver. They couldn’t do that, but he made the team better. That’s all that you can do as a player. You can’t make your team a championship team yourself.
“He had some great teams with the Lakers and Spurs, he made them better. That’s all you can do as a player.”
Even in his final NBA season with the La Lakers, Anthony averaged 13.3 points in just 26 minutes per game.
He averaged 22.5 points in his career and was considered by many to be one of the most skilled scorers.
Anthony was a midrange master and achieved many successes from there in the first half of his career.
However, as his career progressed, the game began to change, with more three pointers being filmed.
At first it was difficult to adjust, but Anthony quickly realized that he had to make changes to continue playing.
He finished his career with a stint in Portland, followed by LA, where Anthony joined forces with his friend LeBron James.
The 41-year-old did not win the championship, but his game saw many players fall in love with the game. That’s why Anthony is always considered a league legend.