From his days as a rookie with the Denver Nuggets, to becoming a featured act in New York, to picking up monikers based on his apparel, to his preeminence in international competition, Carmelo Anthony’s basketball reputation has morphed in his 19 years in the NBA.
Yet, as Anthony begins to carve out a role with his sixth franchise, the Los Angeles Lakers, some things have stayed the same.
“He’s been a pain on the ass on every one of those teams,” said San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who has tailored defensive schemes to try to thwart the No. 9 scorer in league history for nearly two decades now.
Throughout Anthony’s career, just as omnipresent as his megawatt smile, has been his branding as a certified bucket getter.
“A threat,” is how LeBron James described him. “He is a sniper. What we call it in our league — guys that don’t need much airspace to get it off because of his quick trigger.”
Anthony averaged 20-plus points in each of his first 14 seasons with the Nuggets and New York Knicks, winning the scoring title in 2012-13 with 28.7 points per game for New York.
He has scored 50 points four times and topped 40 points 40 times.
“I’m still here doing it,” the 37-year-old Anthony said. “I think that’s what I’m honestly excited about. I’m here in Year 19 still doing what I’m able to do. Still passionate about the game. Still passionate about coming to work every day and getting better.”
While Anthony was the undisputed No. 1 option on those Nuggets and Knicks teams, his role took on different forms in recent stops, refining his game to fit the rosters he found himself on as a complementary player, rather than as the top dog.
Here’s how he got from a supernova with the Nuggets to a high-level role player in L.A.
Olympic Melo
As the most decorated Olympian (three gold medals, one bronze) in U.S. men’s basketball history,…
Source : espn
