Carmelo Anthony, a former 10-time All-Star and six-time All-NBA selection, officially retired from the NBA on Monday. The No. 3 pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, Anthony spent 19 seasons in the NBA and last played in an NBA game last season as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers.
He retires as the No. 9 scorer in league history. Only LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Dirk Nowitzki, Wilt Chamberlain and Shaquille O’Neal scored more than Anthony — who finishes his career with 28,289 points.
In the video, Anthony said: “I remember the days when I had nothing, just a ball on the court and a dream of something more. But basketball was my outlet. My purpose was strong, my communities, the cities I represented with pride and the fans that supported me along the way. I am forever grateful for those people and places because they made me Carmelo Anthony.
“But now the time has come for me to say goodbye. … With this bittersweet goodbye to the NBA, I’m excited about what the future holds for me.”
Anthony’s legacy has long been secure: He ends his playing days after being selected as one of the 75 greatest players in NBA history, a 10-time All-Star, a past scoring champion and a six-time All-NBA selection.
“Carmelo Anthony is one of the NBA’s all-time great players and ambassadors,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement Monday. “We congratulate him on a remarkable 19-year career and look forward to seeing him in the Hall of Fame.”
Past and current NBA players, including former teammates of Anthony, took to social media to congratulate Carmelo on his retirement.
And while he never got to the NBA Finals — he only played in the conference finals once, with Denver against the eventual-champion Los Angeles Lakers in 2009 — Anthony also knew what it was like to be a champion.
He was the Most Outstanding Player of the 2003 Final Four when he led Syracuse to the national championship, and he helped USA Basketball win Olympic gold three times — at Beijing in 2008, at London in 2012 and at Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
Anthony has played in 31 games in four appearances at the Olympics, the most of any U.S. men’s player ever. Anthony’s 37 points against Nigeria in the 2012 games is a USA Basketball men’s record at an Olympics, as are his 10 3-pointers from that game and his 13-for-13 effort from the foul line against Argentina in 2008.
He will remain part of international basketball for at least a few more months; Anthony is one of the ambassadors to the Basketball World Cup, FIBA’s biggest event, which will be held this summer in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia.
“I remember the days when I had nothing, just a ball on the court and a dream of something more,” Anthony said. “But basketball was my outlet. My purpose was strong, my communities, the cities I represented with pride and the fans that supported me along the way. I am forever grateful for those people and places because they made me Carmelo Anthony.”
Anthony was drafted by the Denver Nuggets with the third overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft, part of the star-studded class that included LeBron James at No. 1, Hall of Famer Chris Bosh at No. 4, and soon-to-be Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade — he gets officially enshrined this summer — at No. 5. Anthony will join them at the Hall of Fame before long.
He has a solid place in Nuggets lore, ranking as the franchise’s No. 4 all-time scorer while finishing in the top 10 in several other key statistical categories, too.
He was traded in 2011 to the New York Knicks, where he spent more than six seasons. He averaged 22.5 points in his 19 seasons, spending the bulk of those years with Denver and the New York Knicks. Anthony has long raved about his time with the Knicks, and what it was like playing at Madison Square Garden, especially as a kid who was born in Brooklyn.
“The Garden,” Anthony said in 2014. “They call it The Mecca for a reason.”
Anthony also had stops in Oklahoma and Houston, but in early 2019 he was traded to Chicago and the Bulls cut him before he played a game.
Anthony hadn’t played for a year when he was signed by the Portland Trail Blazers in November 2019. He instantly sparked the team and developed a chemistry with his teammates while also providing veteran leadership. He spent a second season with the Blazers before moving on to sign with the Lakers in August 2021.
Those Lakers loaded up on veteran talent, adding Anthony as well as Russell Westbrook and a supporting cast of accomplished NBA veterans to team up with LeBron James and Anthony Davis for the 2021-22 season. However, that season mostly fell flat as the Lakers went 33-49 and missed the playoffs.
He said in his retirement address that he’s looking forward to watching the development of his son Kiyan, a highly rated high school shooting guard.
“People ask what I believe my legacy is,” Anthony said. “It’s not my feats on the court that come to mind, all the awards or praise. Because my story has always been more than basketball. My legacy, my son … I will forever continue through you. The time has come for you to carry this torch.”
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
