A week ago, Carmelo Anthony came to the Philippines as the 2023 FIBA World Cup brand ambassador.
At this point, he was out of the NBA and it seems like he's enjoying being the PR guy than going on these basketball games where they demand little from the former MVP contender.
In some ways, there is a stain on his resume because, unlike his Syracuse Orangemen, he never saw finals action on the big stage. Also, he sacrificed a championship to sign with big money and when he decided to join a super team, it was too late.
With that said what a resume he's had. I am not the biggest Melo fan but you can't also shrug off all of his achievements. There was a time when saying "Melo" was as good as "Kobe", even if it's really not on the same level.
I don't know who will retire his number. I hope it's New York because his Denver #15, despite being the more famous because of his time there as well as his rookie memos, has been taken by Nikola Jokic. One must ask why Denver ever gave Jokic permission to use the number but Anthony's Nuggets tenure never reached a decade and whoever thought a Serbian-born second-rounder would have this big of an impact in the NBA. While Anthony logged far fewer seasons with the Knicks, Melo is born in the city and it's not like there are a lot better players to wear the jersey as right on the top of my head, I could say Kenny "Sky" Walker, Channing Frye, Lavor Postell, and former Purefoods import Kennard Winchester.
I think one of Lebron's curses is that he zaps the energy of his contemporaries and leaves them a shell of their old selves once they have served their purpose. It happened to the Cleveland version of Dwyane Wade and the Lakers version of Dwight Howard and the same can be said with Melo. This is not a knock on Lebron but more on his ability to withstand the constraints of age.
