From Superstar To NBA Outcast: A Timeline of Carmelo Anthony’s Career

In his prime, Carmelo Anthony regularly led his team to the playoffs, once led the league in scoring, and was a certified superstar. But in his 16th year in the NBA, the narrative around Melo has changed. No longer the athlete and impact player he used to be, Anthony might be staring at the end of his career after his most recent stop in Houston didn’t work out. Lack of playing time, an unwillingness to come off the bench, and just not fitting in appears to be the culprit.

"I think everybody knows that I've sacrificed kind of damn near everything," Anthony said following the end of the 2017-18 season. "Family, moving here by myself, sacrificed my game for the sake of the team, and was willing to sacrifice anything and everything in order for this situation to work out. So it's something I really have to think about, if I really want to be this type of player, finish out my career as this type of player, knowing that I have so much left in the tank and I bring so much to the game of basketball."

But it looks like teams in the Association don’t feel the same way about the future Hall of Famer like they used to. Now that his days as a Rocket are over and his time in the league reportedly could be over, how did we get to the point where Anthony might be retiring rather than firing away from 18 feet? Here’s a brief timeline of all the ups and downs Carmelo Anthony’s career.

Brooklyn native Carmelo Kyam Anthony was born on May 29, 1984. His mother is African American and his father was of Puerto Rican, Venezuelan, and African descent. Anthony lost his father to cancer at a very young age, resulting in his mother being his sole provider throughout his childhood. Melo has four older siblings. When Anthony was 8, his older siblings were ready to move out of the house. It was at this point that he and his mother relocated to Baltimore, Maryland. The two of them lived near the city’s dangerous west side, in an area called “The Pharmacy" which inspired HBO’s The Wire.

As a child, Anthony loved basketball. So much so that as a punishment, his mother would tell him he couldn’t play basketball if he had misbehaved at home or school. At the beginning of his youth basketball career, Anthony was a good player who had decent ball-handling skills and a great outside shot. However, his lack of height at the point guard position didn’t propel him to legendary status at that level.

For his first three years of high school, Anthony commuted 45-minutes to school every day to attend Towson Catholic High School. Following being cut from his school’s varsity team his freshman year of high school, Anthony had a very healthy and nicely timed growth spurt sprouting 6 inches--reaching 6’5”.

After his growth spurt, his hard work coupled with his new height and wingspan made him a force to be reckoned with. Once he came into his frame and became more comfortable with his stature and ability, Anthony was one of the best players in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association and the Catholic League. His production on the court his junior year nearly doubled from his sophomore year (14 ppg).

By the end of his junior year, Anthony’s effectiveness on the court made him one of the most sought-after recruits in his class. But a lack of preparation began affecting his performance in the classroom, and ultimately threatened his ability to play at the collegiate level. In hopes of saving his future career, Anthony transferred from Towson Catholic High School to Oak Hill Academy in Virginia to pull up his grades so that he could qualify to compete at the NCAA level.

After completing summer school before enrolling in the Virginia boarding school, Anthony was making positive strides to become eligible to play NCAA basketball. On the court, Anthony was doing exceptionally well and averaged 22 PPG, 7.1 RBG and 3 APG. The point guard turned small forward had to continue doing well in school and score above an 18 on the ACT to become eligible for college basketball. Many college coaches on the east coast were vying for Anthony and tried to sell him the idea of playing at their various schools the following fall. In April, Anthony earned a 19 on the ACT, making him officially eligible to play college basketball.

Carrying Syracuse to a title

One of the college coaches that made advances to sign Anthony as a member of his team was Coach Jim Boeheim at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York. As a New York native, Anthony was aware of Syracuse’s dominance in the NCAA and went on to become a member of their squad for the 2002-2003 season.

The Orange found success throughout their season, and despite losing to UConn in the semifinals of the Big East Tournament, they managed to snag the No. 3 seed in the West Region in the NCAA Tournament. Anthony earned the Big East Rookie of the Year title and was named a member of the All-Big East First Team and widely considered one of the best freshmen in recent college history. Anthony famously led his team to the Final Four and eventually a showdown with Kansas in the championship game. In the title tilt against Kansas, Anthony dropped 20 points, 10 assists, and 7 rebounds, just missing a triple-double and earned the MOP honors, becoming just the third true freshman to do so.

Anthony knew that his goal of being a professional basketball player was only a stone-throw away. Nearly a month after capturing a national championship, he declared for the NBA Draft and was projected to go in the top five. As expected, Anthony was selected third overall by the Denver Nuggets. The now 6’8” Anthony was heading to the other side of the country to fulfill his dream of being a professional basketball player. His buddy, LeBron James, was the No. 1 overall pick that year.

During the 2006-2007 season, in a regular season game against the New York Knicks, a fight erupted after a rough foul on fellow Denver Nugget player, J.R. Smith. Moments after the foul, a fight ensued between the two teams which led to a combined 47-game suspension for the seven players involved. In the midst of the fighting, Anthony threw a punch unprovoked. Anthony, Smith and the Knicks’ Nate Robinson were of those heavily penalized. Smith and Robinson each received 10-game suspensions while Anthony received a 15-game suspension, the sixth longest in NBA history.

Coming home

During the 2011 season, the Nuggets and Knicks agreed to a trade that centered around Anthony taking his talents east. He was traded along with Chauncey Billups, Anthony Carter, Shelden Williams, and Renaldo Balkman. The Knicks also received a second-round pick and Corey Brewer from the Minnesota Timberwolves. In exchange, the Denver Nuggets acquired Timofey Mozgov, Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, the Knicks’ first-round pick in 2014 and second-round picks in the 2012 and 2013 drafts.

Jersey retired at Syracuse

As a key player on the Syracuse basketball team that earned the university’s only NCAA championship, Anthony’s Syracuse jersey was retired in 2013. The event took place during the Orange’s Big East Conference contest against Georgetown in the Carrier Dome. A replica of Anthony’s No. 15 jersey was hung in the rafters amongst other Syracuse greats.

New Garden scoring record

As a Knick, Anthony had many stellar games, one that stood out from the others was his record-breaking 62-point performance at the World’s Most Famous Arena in 2014. In the Knicks 125-96 win over the Charlotte Bobcats, Anthony broke a New York Knicks and MSG record that night. The previous mark for the Knicks was held by Bernard King (60 points) and the highest total at Madison Square Garden was held by Kobe Bryant (61 points) prior to Anthony shattering both.

Team USA's leading scorer

Carmelo Anthony made his first appearance for Team USA in USA Basketball’s Men’s Youth Development Festival for the East Team, where the team earned the silver medal. His most recent appearance for Team USA was the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In total, he has played on 12 USA teams and has earned three gold medals, one silver medal, and two bronze medals. During the 2016 Olympics, he surpassed LeBron James as the United States’ all-time scoring leader in Olympic competition. In the contest against Australia, Anthony scored 31 points, putting his all-time total to 293 points.

Melo moves onto OKC

In an attempt to jolt his career, Anthony thought it would be beneficial to request a trade from the Knicks before the 2017 season began. He got his wish and was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Enes Kanter, Doug McDermott, and the Chicago Bulls’ 2018 second-round pick. To accommodate the trade, there were several sacrifices both parties (Anthony and the Thunder) had to endure. Anthony had to waive his no-trade clause and “$8.1 million trade kicker” to make the deal possible. The Thunder had to pay a $27.8 million luxury tax to accommodate the addition of Anthony. The Thunder’s front office thought Anthony’s addition to a Russell Westbrook and Paul George-led offense would prove beneficial and were hopeful it would lead them to a deep playoff run. However, the move didn’t accomplish either of those. Instead, Anthony struggled and it proved to be an awkward fit.

Hey @carmeloanthony your jersey is on it’s way...good luck, fam! pic.twitter.com/Yzh04ZUzSp


— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) August 9, 2018

During the summer of 2018, Anthony was traded to the Atlanta Hawks, where he wouldn’t play a game. Anthony “received $25.4 million of his original 2018-2019 salary minus a $2.4 million contract buyout with the Atlanta Hawks.” The Hawks soon waived Anthony, which made him a free agent.

10 games with the Rockets...and goodbye

Before he could be a part of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Anthony had to waive his no-trade clause, which he said he would only do for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Houston Rockets. Well, that sort of came into play when Melo was a free agent because he signed a one-year deal with the Rockets for $2.4 million.

Now what? As of this week, talks of Anthony being waived from the Rockets are circling in the media. Since Melo is no longer a Rocket, where will he end up now? Will he even get signed again? Some think reuniting with the Denver Nuggets would suit Anthony and bring his career full-circle if he decided to retire in the next few seasons. Others believe that the Los Angeles Lakers could also be a viable option to see if Melo does still have some juice left in his tank. Because if there is anyone who could get the most out of Melo, it’d be his homie, LeBron James. We’ll see where Carmelo Anthony will end up if he will end up anywhere, that is.

Reports surfaced after Thanksgiving that Melo may have played his last NBA game and most blamed it on the absence of his defense. During his 10-game run with the Houston Rockets, Anthony averaged 13.4 points and 5.4 rebounds. Melo has posted his workouts on his social media platforms but NBA teams don’t appear interested. Some think Melo should retire so he doesn’t further tarnish his legacy. Others have suggested he head to China if he really wants to play for pay. Reports say the Denver Nuggets and Portland Trail Blazers might have some interest. If this is indeed Anthony’s last season in the NBA, it’s a stunning end for one of the league’s most gifted scorers that few saw coming.