Carmelo Anthony was in Paris during the Olympics. So, he had the pleasure of watching Team USA dominate their way to the Gold Medal in Men’s basketball. During the final game of the campaign, the three-time Gold-medal winner had his moments with the current Team USA squad.
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Melo seemed so involved in the game that it sometimes felt like he was the Coach of the team. Even Anthony felt like he was part of the American squad.
On 7PM in Brooklyn, the 40-year-old initially admitted that he wanted to show the world that Team USA still reigned supreme in basketball. Of course, he wasn’t on the team anymore. However, he showed his support by barking out suggestions to his former teammates all game long.
“My perspective was to show the world, no matter where we at, this is our game! We going to bring this excitement… We are great! We have great players!” Anthony said.
This led to many of his teammates even interacting with him during the games. Anthony added,
“That moment with Bron [LeBron James], I just knew that Bron had to take it up to another level. So, it was just my, I felt like I was on the team again! Like this is sh*t I would be yelling if I was on the team!”
LBJ and Melo had an iconic moment on the court as Team USA took the fight to the next level for the gold. As a three-time Olympic Champion, Anthony prompted that respect in Team USA players. And they also took inspiration from him to really secure the deal against the home team.
It’s likely that Melo was not the only one who felt like he was on the team again. After all, in his celebrations, LeBron James made a bee-line for the former athlete, before celebrating passionately with him.
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Given just how much time Anthony spent trying to ‘coach’ Team USA from the sidelines, it is no wonder he felt part of the team. Many even wondered if he would consider taking up a coaching role with Team USA going forward.
But on an earlier episode, the former New York Knick admitted that he wishes to stay far away from anything of the sort. And to be fair to him, his reasoning is hard to argue with.
Carmelo Anthony revealed why he will not be coaching professionally
Carmelo Anthony was an all-time great during his time in the NBA. And apparently, this is exactly what is holding him back from coaching any professional basketball teams. Speaking on the topic, he said,
“That is exactly why I can’t be a coach… I think I would coach high school. I gotta have my own situation, like a ‘Oak Hill’ type of situation… you know, like a situation where I can control everything… No player has, you know, like no big-time player has gotten back on the sideline and was successful as a coach… If you a big-time player, you got ego, you got pride, right?”
Of course, there are exceptions to the rule Carmelo is talking about. Despite being one of the greatest players ever, Larry Bird was good as the head coach for the Indiana Pacers. Jason Kidd has also done a great job with the Mavericks.
However, apart from that, the coaching careers of former great players do look lackluster. So, while he looked great in Paris, perhaps staying away from coaching is the right option for Melo.
