Former Thunder Forward Carmelo Anthony Announces Retirement
Melo #Melo
No matter what the late years of his career looked like, Carmelo Anthony was an NBA legend who left an incredible legacy on the court. The No. 9 ranked scorer in the league’s history announced his retirement from the game Monday morning.
Anthony was a six-time All-NBA member and a 10-time All-Star. He was included on the NBA’s illustrious 75th Anniversary Team. In 1260 career NBA games, he averaged 22.5 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists.
Before his professional career, he was already big-time after leading Syracuse to a national championship as a freshman. In 2003, he brought the Orange a title and was named the NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. It’s no surprise he was selected in the Top 5 of the NBA Draft.
Melo’s best seasons came in Denver and New York, where he was an All Star nearly year in and year out. In 2012-13, he averaged a career-high 28.7 points per game for the Knicks and adding 6.9 rebounds per game.
When Anthony was traded to Oklahoma City in 2017-18, expectations were sky high. He was coming off of eight straight All Star appearances and started every single game for the Knicks as the team’s best player. The Thunder had been left in the dust by Kevin Durant and Sam Presti was trying to keep the roster competitive. After trading for Paul George, Anthony was the Thunder’s next target. As a superstar that was in the spotlight for his entire career, Anthony waived his no-trade clause to play for the Thunder and embraced everything the city had to offer.
He averaged 16.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists during his lone season in Oklahoma City. The Thunder fell short of lofty expectations, losing in the first round to the Utah Jazz. Melo scored in double figures in four out of six playoff games and started every single one. He registered 78 games started in 78 games played, giving his all every night.
Anthony chose to play for the Thunder. For that, fans in Oklahoma City will always have great respect and admiration for the future Hall of Famer. It was a legendary career with so many points scored and magical moments throughout the years.
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