The 2003 NBA Draft Class is often considered one of the best in history. Carmelo Anthony was a part of it along with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and more. Melo was slated to be the #2 pick, which belonged to the Detroit Pistons. However, he ended up being the third pick, and went to the Denver Nuggets. Pistons legend Rip Hamilton has his own thoughts about how things would have transpired had his team drafted Melo instead of Darko Milicic. He has toyed with this ‘what if’ scenario in the past too.
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“If we had gotten Carmelo Anthony. Man, that would’ve been insane,” said Hamilton.
The former shooting guard added that he had conversations about this hypothetical scenario with Chauncey Billups in the past. The 2004 Champion believes that he could’ve prolonged his NBA career with Melo taking charge of the team.
“I tell Chauncey, we could’ve played an extra four or five years in Detroit…Because Carmelo was gonna, at one point be the man for us,” he said.
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Hamilton, of course, would’ve taken a backseat if Melo had come in. This would’ve added some more years to his career because then he wouldn’t have had to shoulder the team’s responsibility.
During the 2000s, the Pistons were one of the strongest teams in the league. They found their way to the Eastern Conference Finals four times. They advanced to two NBA Finals, winning the championship in 2004, which Melo would have loved to be part of.
However, Anthony went to Denver. The decision had surprised the 10-time All-Star as well.
Carmelo had big plans for the Pistons
On an episode of the 7PM in Brooklyn podcast, Melo was shown a picture of himself having a conversation with LeBron at the 2003 NBA Draft. Elaborating on his expression in the picture, Melo said, “That’s the picture when I found out I wasn’t going to Detroit.”
The 40-year-old revealed the details of his conversation with LBJ.
“We were talking about, yo, you going to Cleveland, I’m in Detroit, we’re right next door…We’re gonna play against each other, this is what the people want to see,” said Melo, who was so confident about his move to Detroit that he even made plans for his stint.
Melo went on to make his mark in the league, establishing himself as one of the greatest scorers and players of all time in a career that lasted almost two decades (2003 to 2022).
