Carmelo Anthony was recently on the show 7PM in Brooklyn where he shared quite the opinion about stars in the NBA and their changing teams.
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While discussing the developments around the league, the show’s co-host, The Kid Mero, shed light on the unfavorable circumstances from the past. He highlighted how the trade situation for the senior NBA stars had become much more advantageous with time, emphasizing, “It ain’t used to be like that”. The 40-year-old added, “If you past 30 something and you went to another team,” right before Melo jumped in declaring, “It was over”.
Anthony dissected the fans’ perspective as he candidly shared his thoughts on watching a few of the biggest names in different jerseys than usual. The 10x All-Star mentioned iconic figures such as Hakeem Olajuwon, Tracy McGrady, and Shaquille O’Neal to establish his point. “Hakeem in the Raptors jersey, T-Mac in the Spurs jersey, Shaq in the Cleveland jersey, and the Celtics jersey,” he highlighted.
Following that, he even criticized one of his career choices upon self-reflection on the show. He put the limelight on his time with the Houston Rockets as an unexpected one, mentioning, “Me in a Houston jersey”. “Honestly like I gotta get myself that like, ‘Yo Melo, you was nasty,'” the 39-year-old further added.
It disgusted Carmelo as it went against his morale as an avid lover of the NBA. He used to believe, “I’m not doing that. I’m not going on that path. When it’s time for me to go, I’m out”. “I’ve never wanted to see myself in like certain jerseys,” he highlighted while looking back on his time in the league. “That’s still the fan. That’s how you know that I really love the game and like f**k with the game,” he stated, conveying his thoughts.
So, as a follower of the game of basketball, the 2013 scoring champion disliked witnessing Michael Jordan playing for the Washington Wizards. “I didn’t wanna see MJ with the Wizards. I didn’t wanna see that,” he mentioned. The small forward continued with his message as he highlighted parts of Allen Iverson‘s career, stating, “AI in Memphis. I didn’t wanna see that”.
The less talked about side of Carmelo Anthony
What Melo did during his time in the NBA set examples for the aspirants. Yet, anyone hardly ever mentions his drive to carry on in the game as a supporter. That’s why, since his introduction to the league back in 2003, the New Yorker continued to pursue excellence.
Still, it all had to come to an end after a certain point. For the 6’7 star, the time arrived back in 2022 after his time with the Los Angeles Lakers. During that phase, he remained focused on carrying on as a player despite becoming a free agent. So, Carmelo refused all the rumors surrounding his retirement, declaring, “My body will tell me when it’s time to go”.
Yet, his determination had to meet an unshakable wall of reality as the icon announced his departure from the court of basketball in May this year. Thus, his recent statements reveal his softer side as a supporter of the sport. Yes, he followed in the footsteps of the legends from the past but the changes certainly tore him apart from inside. A price he had to pay to give his best shot at winning a championship.
