Carmelo Anthony had a pretty decent career in the NBA — and basketball as a whole.
He was a national champion with Syracuse, was one of the greatest players in Team USA history with three gold medals, and a 10-time All-Star in 19 seasons in the league.
However, it seems like there was an individual award missing from his trophy cabinet, and one that he should’ve won.
Anthony wasn’t named Rookie of the Year after a remarkable campaign in the 2003-04 NBA season, and he finally claimed that everybody knows he should’ve won it, per SI, via NBACentral.
“I should have won that; everybody knows,”
– Carmelo Anthony on the 2004 rookie of the year award
(Via @SInow ) pic.twitter.com/7xXQwVEupJ
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) May 23, 2023
Notably, Anthony was named Rookie of the Month in every single month of the season, yet it was LeBron James as the one to take the award home.
James got 78 first-place votes for a total of 508 points, whereas Melo had 40 first-place votes for 430 points.
Anthony averaged 21.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game and helped the Denver Nuggets make the playoffs with a 43-39 record.
James, on the other hand, averaged 20.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 5.9 assists per game, but his team only managed to get 35 wins and didn’t even reach the postseason.
Truth be told, the award could’ve gone either way, but having an impact on a winning team and also winning Rookie of the Month every month should’ve been enough for Melo to win it.
Obviously, James wound up having a much better career than Melo, even winning four NBA championships.
But even if some fans will never give him his flowers because of his lack of a ring, Melo should still be considered one of the greatest scorers in modern basketball history.
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