Appreciating Carmelo Anthony And His Leadership In The NBA
By Jason Luthor
Carmelo Anthony demonstrates a level of commitment is a rarity in the modern NBA.
In 2004, Carmelo Anthony was 20 years old. He was just coming off his rookie season with the Denver Nuggets, in the same year that LeBron James was making waves in Cleveland.
If you just go by the stats, then Carmelo’s first year in the NBA was undoubtedly a success. He dropped 21 points while pulling down six rebounds, dishing out three assists and managing a steal per game.
Stats like that put him right on par with James. Melo also easily surpassed Darko Milicic, who was taken one spot ahead of Carmelo in the draft. With the sort of numbers Carmelo put up, he was a better player than Dwyane Wade at the time.
Wade was having a great rookie year in Miami, but going by the numbers, he was just a half-step behind Melo and James.
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With that type of ability, it’s no wonder Melo joined Wade and James when the 2004 Olympics rolled around. Something strange happened on the way to the medal that year, though.
Team USA lost, multiple times, as the rest of the world finally showed it could compete with NBA players when the conditions were right.
To be fair, the USA Men’s basketball program should never have paired so many rookies with a coach like Larry Brown, who hated playing them. Even when they did play, none of that core rookie trio of James, Wade or Melo had reached their peaks.
They couldn’t be expected to lead a team against veteran global competition that included players like Manu Ginobili and Pau Gasol.
So, Melo and his teammates walked away with a bronze, and immediately the criticism began. At the time, there was a video circulating in which Melo said he threw his bronze medal in a lake.
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In retrospect, that doesn’t seem likely, considering we know Melo actually gave the
to a family member. Still, the words were spoken by a young, frustrated, 20-year old man. If you recorded every word from your 20s, you probably wouldn’t be proud of every moment, either.
A funny thing happened in the 12 years following those 2004 Olympics, though. Team USA bounced back. In 2008, 2012, and now 2016, the USA basketball program brought home the gold through a revitalized approach to basketball.
Team USA realized it had to bring its top game to a field of global competitors who wanted the gold as much as they did.
And at each Olympics was Carmelo Anthony. Think about it like this. For his career, Carmelo has averaged 25 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and a steal per game, numbers he nearly matched in the 2015-16 season. In the Olympics, he’s usually been even better.
Statistical analysis of Anthony’s true shooting and usage percentage reveals that his performance in the Olympics is a class better than in the NBA.
It’s not because of lesser competition, or at least that’s not the only reason. Anthony simply has higher quality teammates at the Olympics, something he lacks in New York. But his on-court performance isn’t the reason to admire Carmelo.
What’s admirable about Carmelo is his commitment to the program and representing the country well. What’s admirable is his willingness to speak out on important issues of race and violence.
Anthony has grown over the past 12 years, as everyone does. Younger men now look at him as the veteran when the U.S. assembles its national teams. The same Melo who 12 years ago joked about throwing his medal in a lake is now the guy that players look to for leadership.
This is a player who takes a standing about issues in society. 12 years is a long time, and even if Carmelo has never tasted playoffs success, he has succeeded in the one way that truly matters: maturing as an individual.
He’s led not only in his words, but in his commitment. It’s a rare quality in the modern NBA and the U.S. in general. Carmelo has returned for every Olympics.
As far as New York, he’s in the middle of a five-year contract that won’t end until he’s 35.
Commitment is hard to come by, but it should be respected when it’s there.
It’s hard to stay after dark days like the 2004 Olympics. It’s probably hard for Melo to see the success of super teams like the one James formed in Miami and that the Warriors surprised the league with in Oakland.
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Still, Carmelo has proven he is a committed guy. He’s still there for New York. In 2020, who knows? He may be there yet again for Team USA.