It’s been two years since Carmelo Anthony bid farewell to the league. The 10-time All-Star was one of the best scorers in the history of the league and he is still fondly remembered for his time in New York. However, there were several underrated aspects of his game, trash talk being one of them.
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Melo’s ability to rattle his opponents was on perfect display in a 2021-22 regular season game vs the Suns.
A clip of the 6x All-NBA player going at JaVale McGee has gone viral online. At the time, Melo was with the Lakers whereas McGee was with the Suns. In the clip, Melo is heard snapping back at the 36-year-old for elbowing him.
The two were going at each other throughout the game. However, when a player, who was not visible in the frame, was shooting free throws, the tension between Melo and McGee escalated and got physical. Melo started by telling the ref to keep an eye on the situation. He said, “Watch the elbow right here. Watch the elbow.” That did not affect McGee.
Cameron Johnson of the Suns was injured in the tussle between the two. He was hit by Melo’s hand after the strong initial contact between him and McGee. Amidst the ref’s interference to cool things down between the two, Melo got into McGee’s face again and said, “He initiated it…You better know, you can’t chump me…I want action…I want the smoke.”
LEAKED Audio Of Carmelo Anthony Trash Talking Javale Mcgee👀:
“You can’t chump me… I want action, I want the smoke” pic.twitter.com/BMbz9Yjgyc
— LegendZ (@legendz_nba) August 24, 2024
Although the trash-talk between the two was interesting for the fans to watch, it was McGee who had the last laugh. The game ended 115-105 for Phoenix. Both the players came off the bench for their respective teams and even though Melo lost the game, he had a better time on the floor as compared to his competitor.
The 10-time All-Star dropped 16 points in 25 minutes with five rebounds and an assist while shooting 5 of 11 from the field and 4 of 6 from the 3-point line. McGee on the other hand had 9 points with 4 rebounds in 13 minutes. He shot 4 of 5 from the field and made 1 free throw on 4 attempts.
After that season, Melo retired from the league whereas McGee has switched teams twice since then. Even now, he is a free agent and is looking for a new team. Unfortunately, the free agency hype has died down as the teams have picked who they were looking for and they don’t seem to have much interest in the available talent pool.
