Seventeen years ago today, Carmelo Anthony made his NBA debut. Let’s take a look at his legendary career so far.
DRAFTED BY DENVER
Anthony was drafted as a small forward with the third overall pick in 2003 NBA DRAFT. He was drafted at the age of 19 from Syracuse University. He played eight seasons in Denver, racking up 13,970 points, 3,566 rebounds, and 1,729 assists. He was a four-time All-Star, NBA All-rookie first team member, and a three-time ALL-NBA third team member. He helped lead the Nuggets to the playoffs every year he was there, going as far as the Western Conference Finals in 2009.
THE TRADE
On February 21, 2011, Anthony was traded to the New York Knicks in a 12 player trade.
Denver Received: Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallinari, Timofey Mozgov, the Knicks 2014 first-round pick, the Warriors 2012 second-round pick, and the Warriors 2013 second-round pick, and three million dollars in cash.
While the Knicks received: Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups, Shelden Williams, Anthony Carter, and Ronaldo Balkman
The Nuggets won this trade just because of how much they got back in production. They had turned the Knicks first-round pick into Doug McDermott, but Wilson Chandler had a good career with Denver.
THE BIG APPLE
While in New York, Anthony was an All-star six times. He led the Knicks to the playoffs the first three years he was there and claimed two more ALL- NBA trophies (third team in 2011-2012, and second team in 2012-2013. He was also the NBA Scoring champion in his 10th year in the league. While in the Big Apple, Anthony racked up 10,186 points, 2,865 rebounds, and 1,328 assists in seven seasons.
TRADED FOR A SECOND TIME
In 2017, Anthony was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Enes Kanter, Doug McDermott, and a draft pick. In the one year with OKC, he totaled 1,261 points, 453 rebounds, 103 assists.
BLACK MAIL ERA
After the season in which he played for Oklahoma City, Carmelo was traded to Atlanta for Dennis Schroder and immediately released. He then played ten games for Houston. But, with the NBA transitioning to a three-point shot, nobody wanted the mid-range game in the arsenal, teams tried him out, but nobody signed him. Not even his best friend, LeBron James.
BLAZERS TAKE A CHANCE
The Portland Trail Blazers were in a desperate measure to sign someone that could help them win now. The entire team was practically hurt, so they took a chance on a 37-year-old Carmelo Anthony. It proved to work for both sides, as it proved that there is still room in the NBA for a midrange specialist. The Blazers would love to re-sign him as well.
All in all, Carmelo is also a three-time Olympian and currently 15th all-time on the scoring list. If he can go one or two more seasons, he could get into the top 10 in points leaders. Which would answer the question, yes, he will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Especially if he can help the Blazers win a championship this next season.
