Carmelo Anthony reflects on legacy ahead of HOF induction: ‘I did it my way’
Ahead of his Hall of Fame induction Saturday, Carmelo Anthony said he hopes the legacy he’s left behind is that he did things his way. Leonardo Eriman | Photo Editor
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UNCASVILLE, Conn. — For people raised on Myrtle Avenue in Baltimore, making it to the NBA — no less the Basketball Hall of Fame — doesn’t happen. It’s such a pipe dream that they don’t even consider it being a possibility.
That’s unless you’re Carmelo Anthony. And there’s one key separator between him and everyone else — he did it Carmelo Anthony’s way.
“I did it my way,” Anthony said. “I did it (in) a way that a lot of people didn’t agree with. I did it a way that I went against the grain a lot of times, not disrespectfully, but just I have my own vision. I have my own ways of doing things.”
As Anthony is set to be enshrined into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Saturday, his legacy as one of the best players to play the sport will be cemented. The 10th-most points (28,289) of all time, 10 All-Star appearances, NBA 75th Anniversary Team and four Olympic gold medals speak for themselves. But when a young basketball fan walks through the Hall of Fame 20 years from now, Anthony said he hopes the legacy he’s left behind is that he did things his way.
Anthony’s path as a visionary began when he chose to attend Syracuse instead of jumping straight from Oak Hill Academy (Virginia) to the NBA. And instead of staying in college for several years when that was the norm, Anthony left the Orange after a transcendent one-and-done season in which he led them to their only national championship in 2003.
After being selected with the third overall pick by the Denver Nuggets, Anthony continued doing things his way in the NBA. Instantly, the 6-foot-8 forward turned the Nuggets from a 17-win team into a perennial postseason squad for seven consecutive seasons. But when it came time to decide on his future, Anthony declined an extension worth nearly $65 million across three seasons heading into the 2010-11 season.
Denver subsequently traded Anthony to the New York Knicks ahead of the 2011 trade deadline. Following the move, he agreed to a three-year, $65-million contract with the Knicks. The move brought Anthony home, as he lived in New York for the first eight years of his life before moving to Baltimore.
In playing for the Knicks, Anthony explained he wanted to take on the challenge of playing in New York, and understood what he was up against as he attempted to win the organization’s first championship since 1973. Despite prolific scoring seasons, including a league-leading 28.7 points per game in the 2012-13 season, Anthony could only push the Knicks to a single playoff series win.
And from 2013-17, despite Anthony earning All-Star honors each season, the Knicks failed to reach the postseason. Leading into the 2017-18 campaign, Anthony was dealt to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Anthony spent one season with the Thunder before finishing his career with stops playing for the Houston Rockets, Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Lakers.
Despite all of his accomplishments, Anthony’s critics often cite two things: he never won an NBA championship and he failed to establish a Magic Johnson versus Larry Bird-like rivalry with LeBron James, who was drafted No. 1 in Anthony’s draft class.
Regardless of what Anthony did or didn’t do throughout his career, he’ll forever be one of the greatest players to ever touch a basketball. For the kid raised on Myrtle Avenue to get there, it could only be done Carmelo Anthony’s way.
“Coming from Baltimore, this wasn’t an opportunity. (The) Hall of Fame wasn’t an opportunity. So I took it, and I created my own path,” Anthony said.
