LeBron James has stopped quite a few big names from winning awards – one of them is his Banana Boat crew Member Carmelo Anthony.
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LeBron James has so many awards, he could probably swim in them. His patches for his all-star jacket have patches to cover all his accolades. Multiple MVPs, multiple championships, all NBA selections, and ROTY. The one award that can only be won once in a career is the ROTY.
To win it, he held off another legend of the game, Carmelo Anthony. Arguably the more successful rookie at that time, he should have won the award as well. The award almost showed that it was a popularity contest, choosing fame over actual success.
Bron did not make the playoffs, while Melo did. Melo and Bron faced off twice in their rookie season, and Carmelo won the match-up both times.
8 Rookie of the Month selections, and not winning the final trophy? Only in the NBA! Why couldn’t the duo share the trophy like some of their predecessors?
David Stern isn’t alive to answer that question, but he should have answered it. There are some great mysteries, how Melo did not win is one of them.
Carmelo Anthony is the only player EVER to be named rookie of the month in every month of the season, and NOT win rookie of the year.
Melo won every Western conference rookie of the month, while LeBron James won every Eastern conference rookie of the month. pic.twitter.com/3M9ceJv1ba
— Basketball Forever (@Bballforeverfb) January 18, 2021
LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony should have shared the ROTY trophy – like Jason Kid Shared his with Grant Hill
Four years before LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony faced off for the ROTY, an inconspicuous pair of players, Elton Brand and Steve Francis, shared the trophy. While Elton Brand did have some sort of success, the guy with two first names faded into anonymity.
A few years before that, Jason Kidd and a young Grant Hill were also going toe to toe for the award. If these two pairs could be awarded a joint trophy, the Hall of Fame guaranteed that players like LeBron and Carmelo should have gotten it.
Many battles have transpired for the trophy, but nothing comes close to what these two had. Winning every month in their respective conferences is unheard of. And to top it off, not winning it despite leading the team to the playoffs? Carmelo Anthony got robbed. He may not have a ring, but he should have this trophy in his cabinet.
Where Melo signs is still a question. He finally got to play with Bron but ended up failing miserably.
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