NBA legends Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James have been close to each other right from their high school days. Recently, the New York Knicks legend sat down with Kevin Hart on the Gold Minds podcast. The video, shared by SiriusXM on YouTube, saw Anthony explain how the two quickly became close to each other when they first met. Despite being from two different high schools, LeBron and Carmelo had heard about each other and ended up having a three-hour conversation after meeting for the first time.
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Back in February 2002, LeBron’s St. Vincent-St. Mary and Anthony’s Oak Hill Academy played against each other in Trenton, New Jersey. While James was considered the top recruit of the 2003 graduating class, Carmelo was a year senior and was considered the No. 1 recruit of the 2002 class. While the match was won by Oak Hill, both players were impressive and returned home with a friend who would continue to be close for years to come.
LeBron James and Carmelo quickly hit it off during the first meet
Kevin Hart wanted to know about the kind of relationship Carmelo shared with LeBron back in high school. The 39-year-old revealed that he had met LeBron earlier at a Team USA Camp, but did not have the chance to talk to him.
However, when the two met before their game in February 2002, they had ample time. Carmelo claimed that both of them were looking for a brother and quickly hit it off:
“So, I am a senior, he is a junior. We met prior to that on USA Basketball but it was just hi, bye! It wasn’t f**k you. It was just more like damn, I am watching you, I have seen you, I have heard about you. You ain’t seen me coz I was kinda like, local. Back then there was no internet, there was none of that shit. You had to get the scout report. He was like, damn I heard about you too. Then we played each other at Oak Hill in Jersey All-Star weekend I was in Philly. That’s when we met. We sat in a hotel, it was just like two kids. We were looking for something form each other. I was looking for a brother, and he was looking for somebody like that. It was like a movie. We just coming together, we sat at the top of the steps for three hours, and started talking about shit.”
While LeBron and Anthony continue to be close friends, the former was destined to be proclaimed as the chosen one. This was despite the match being won by Anthony’s team 72-68. Both finished with utterly impressive stat lines, with James ending up on the losing side despite top-scoring in the match with 36 points.
Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James did more than fulfill their potential in the NBA
Both Anthony and LeBron were top prospects who were expected to light up the NBA. While Anthony went to Syracuse for a year, LeBron joined the NBA straight from high school.
James was already considered more than good enough for the NBA and ended up becoming the number 1 pick of the 2003 draft. Joining the Cleveland Cavaliers, he had immediate success in the league and quickly proved his credentials.
The same was true for Carmelo Anthony, who would go on to become one of the most exciting players of his generation. Considered to be one of the best scorers of all time, Carmelo finished his career in 2022 as a 10-time All-Star, alongside LeBron James at the LA Lakers.
