Best coach/player pairing in Denver Nuggets history: George Karl & Carmelo Anthony
Though his current reputation has taken a significant hit, Carmelo Anthony was at one time, a basketball prodigy. The NCAA champion helped lead the Denver Nuggets to the NBA Playoffs as he rivaled LeBron James for the Rookie of the Year Award.
It was clear that Anthony had talent, but it wasn’t until George Karl become the head coach that he truly took the next step in his development. Karl utilized Carmelo’s skill-set to it’s biggest advantage, allowing Melo to be Melo.
The Nuggets finished top-two in their division each season with Melo and Karl, totaling three 50-win seasons.
Melo bloomed into a four-time All-Star and averaged 25.4 points and 6.2 rebounds per game in his six seasons with Karl.
Challenging Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2009 Western Conference Finals, this duo came excruciatingly close to reaching the NBA Finals. Though Anthony put up nearly 30 points per game, his Nuggets lost the series in six games.
By the time they parted ways in the 2010-11 season, Karl had won multiple Coach of the Month Awards and Melo was a borderline MVP candidate. It’s a shame they never managed to win a championship together, but they sure made a great duo.
As we look back at Anthony’s career, this stretch was perhaps his most impressive. Unfortunately, Anthony’s career didn’t go as we all thought it would. Still, it would be an absolute shock if he didn’t reach the Hall of Fame.