Carmelo Anthony will be a deserved member of the Basketball Hall of Fame later this month, and it’s a fitting time for many to look back on his incredible career. The one thing missing, that many will point out, is rings. But there were aspects to his game that only a select few have possessed in the league’s history, and according to Raymond Felton, only one has.
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Anthony is ninth on the all-time leading scorers list, which in itself highlights the scoring pedigree he possessed. He even captured the 2012-13 scoring title during his time with the New York Knicks.
That said, there are players with higher averages or who sit above him on the all-time list. But according to Felton, it was Anthony’s IQ that set him apart, placing him shoulder to shoulder with Kobe Bryant.
Felton, a former Knick himself, feels that out of the players he has played against, Bryant and Anthony are the only ones who can score against just about any type of opponent. On SiriusXM NBA Radio, he said, “I would put him on the levels with somebody like Kobe Bryant. I never played with Kobe… but just the level of IQ, of knowing how to score…”
“I think Kobe and Melo are definitely up there as two of the best…” Felton added. “There’s a lot of guys out there that are great scorers, but just the IQ, just knowing how to score against difficult defenders, Melo’s one of the best, if not the best.”
“Melo is one of the best, if not the best”
Raymond Felton compares Carmelo Anthony’s scoring IQ to one of the all-time greats as he prepares to enter the Hall of Fame next weekend #25HoopClass@RFeltonGBMS | @talkhoops | @adaniels33 | @Hoophall pic.twitter.com/YWs9VE2TcU
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) August 27, 2025
Getting compared to Bryant is huge and fitting for Melo. The Black Mamba may be more popular and more successful in terms of personal and team accolades, but Melo always racked up the points and came through in the clutch when it mattered.
Kobe, like Melo, had a long career. He was drafted in 1996 and retired twenty years later in 2016, scoring 60 points in his final game — a fitting exit. Melo, meanwhile, lasted 19 years in the NBA, with his career ending in 2022. His later years weren’t as emphatic as his time with the Knicks and the Denver Nuggets, but he’ll forever be remembered as one of the greatest scorers the game has ever seen.
Felton, in fact, has highlighted Melo’s greatness on several occasions in the past as well.
Carmelo Anthony better than Michael Jordan
Overall, calling Melo better than Michael Jordan isn’t something many would admit, at least publicly, due to fears of being cancelled by the whole community. But in terms of scoring, Felton did not shy away from hailing him better than the Chicago Bulls legend and arguably the greatest basketball player of all time.
Not just MJ, Felton called him better than Bryant, Tracy McGrady, and even LeBron James. “I don’t know nobody who’s better, imma be honest with you. I’m talking about Tracy McGrady, I’m talking about MJ, I’m talking about Kobe, LeBron, all these guys. Like, the way he used to score at every level…”
In terms of PPG, Anthony ranks behind Jordan, James, and even Kobe. MJ, for instance, averaged 30 a game throughout his career. James averaged 27, and Kobe 25. Melo, meanwhile, finished with 22, which shows that he didn’t score as emphatically as the others did. So why does Felton feel he’s at the top?
Well, Felton’s not looking at stats. He’s simply looking at Melo the player. “From all levels, post-up, got footwork, mid-range is impeccable, shoot the three, athletic, can dunk on you, can get to the basket, handles like a point guard… whatever you want, he can give it to you,” he concluded.
