An all-time great offensive player hangs up the basketball.
Carmelo “Melo” Anthony (forward, 201 cm, 108 kg) is retiring, according to The Athletic’s Shams Carania.
Anthony announced his retirement on social media. He is in his late 30s, and it was expected that he would not play this season. During the season, there was also interest in him joining another organization, but there was no deal.
He was in his mid-30s when he got a dramatic breakthrough in the 2019-2020 season and stayed active until last season. Last season, he played for the Los Angeles Lakers, where he got to play alongside LeBron James. However, his last season with the Lakers was a disaster. As a result, he was not re-signed in the offseason. The Lakers didn’t call Anthony back for another season, though there was interest in keeping him around.
Anthony entered the NBA via the 2003 draft. After one season with the NCAA’s Syracuse Orange, he was considered the draft’s biggest bust at the time, along with James. He was drafted by Denver with the third overall pick in the first round and went on to become a superstar for the Nuggets. He led the Nuggets to the Western Conference Finals in 2009. In his prime, he was one of the best scorers in the game.
However, he was later traded to the New York Knicks at the 2010-2011 season’s trade deadline. At the time, New York and the New Jersey Nets (now Brooklyn) battled for him, but New York won out. Although Denver parted ways with Anthony, they were able to acquire a number of players to help set them up for the future. After signing Amare Stoudemire in the summer of 2010, New York added Anthony to the mix.
He played for New York through the 2016-2017 season. Stoudemire went down with an injury shortly thereafter and was left to struggle on his own, with Jason Kidd and Tyson Chandler in between. They made the playoffs, but were far from winning. He was traded again in the summer of 2017. He joined the Oklahoma City Thunder alongside Russell Westbrook and Paul George (later the Clippers), but it didn’t work out as expected.
A season later, he was traded to the Atlanta Hawks, who cut him. He then joined the Houston Rockets. In Houston, he was hoping to play alongside Chris Paul (Phoenix), but Anthony’s offense was dull and his defense was even worse. He was traded to the Chicago Bulls on the cheap during the season and was released.안전놀이터
Afterward, Anthony was desperate. He took it upon himself to build himself up and start practicing, hoping to burn one last spark. During the 2019-2020 season, Portland was riddled with injuries and signed Anthony. Anthony quickly earned a starting spot in Portland and rebounded. In Oklahoma City, he continued to resist coming off the bench, but in the 2020-2021 season, he came to terms with it.
In 19 seasons in the NBA, he has played 34.5 minutes per game in 1,260 regular-season games, averaging 22.5 points (.447 .355 .814), 6.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1 steal. Since his rookie season, he has averaged at least 20 points in 14 straight seasons, including a whopping seven seasons of 25 or more. He was named to the All-Star team 10 times and the All-NBA team six times. In the 2012-2013 season, he led the league in scoring average.
He has amassed 28,289 career regular-season points, 7,808 rebounds, 3,422 assists, and 1,223 steals. He ranks ninth on the all-time regular-season scoring list. One of nine players in history to score 28,000 or more points. Only five players in history have reached 28,000 points, 7,000 rebounds, 3,000 assists and 1,200 steals. Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Dirk Nowitzki, and LeBron James are the only other legends to do so.