Getty Kobe Bryant & Carmelo Anthony.
It seems like an eternity ago that former New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony could not get an NBA team to even sign him. For a while, it seemed wary that Melo could ever get back in the league, but he is thriving in his role with the Portland Trail Blazers. On the season he is averaging 13.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.5 assists.
An age-old debate about Melo has been whether or not he will be a Hall of Famer when his career is all said and done. Melo does not have a ring, and at this stage in his career will probably never win a Most Valuable Player award. However, he did accomplish a major feat on Monday that could guarantee him an entry into the Hall his first time on the Ballot.
Carmelo Anthony Enters the Top 10 on NBA Scoring List
During the Trail Blazers game against the Atlanta Hawks on Monday Melo moved into the top 10 on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. He now has 27,316 points for his career. Next up on the list is Hall of Famer Moses Malone who Melo trails by 93 points for 9th place on the all-time list.
First ballot.
Twitter Reacts to Melo’s Historic Accomplishment
With Anthony reaching such a rare milestone Twitter had no choice but to react:
What an @NBA journey it has been for @carmeloanthony:
◻️ No. 3 overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft
◻️ 2003-2004 all-rookie
◻️ 10x All-Star
◻️ Top-10 all-time scoring list
◻️ Future Hall of Famer…
👏👏 @carmeloanthony joined ELITE company tonight
Here’s an updated look at the all-time scoring leaders in NBA history 👇
@trailblazers Melo All time > Dame All time
Only 9 players in NBA history have scored more points than Carmelo Anthony.
Kareem,
Karl Malone,
LeBron,
Kobe,
Mike,
Dirk,
Wilt,
Shaq and,
Moses Malone.
That’s it’s.
Melo has now scored more than every other person who has ever set foot in an NBA floor.
Stat & Melo Made the Knicks Relevant Again
The Melo era of New York Knicks basketball was one of the greatest for the fans of the orange and blue. Anthony, along with Amare Stoudemire made the Knicks relevant again and brought the excitement back to The Garden.
New York made it all the way to the Eastern Conference semifinals in 2013 against a young Paul George and the Indiana Pacers. The Knicks were right in the fight of it as they had a chance to force a Game 7 back at Madison Square Garden. Unfortunately, the Knicks dropped Game 6 on the road and lost the series. Lack of playoff success forced the Knicks to blow up the team as they bought Stoudemire out in 2015, breaking up the star-studded duo.
Melo & Phil Jackson Had Highly Publicized Beef
It is no secret that Melo’s exit from the Big Apple was an ugly one. Knicks former President of Basketball Operations Phil Jackson had publicly slandered Anthony throughout the season but perhaps the biggest blow came when Jackson all but said that he no longer wanted him on the team during the Knicks exit interviews in 2017.
“We’ve not been able to win with him on the court at this time,” Jackson said of Anthony to reporters via the New York Times. “I think the direction with our team is that he is a player that would be better off somewhere else and using his talents somewhere he can win or chase that championship.”
The multitude of shots that Jackson took at Anthony never bothered the former NBA scoring champion. For him, harsh words just came with the territory of playing in New York.
“When you get older, certain things don’t mean nothing to you Melo told The Undefeated in 2016. “You almost have to forcefully get that way when you come to New York. You have to build tough skin. You have to be prepared for that.”
When it is all said and done for his career, Melo could go down as one of the greatest players of all time.
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