Carmelo Anthony Looking to Cap Off His NBA Career With a Ring

After an incredible first nineteen years in his NBA career, Carmelo Anthony is in pursuit of an NBA title in the final chapter of his career. Just yesterday, it was reported that Anthony has joined the Los Angeles Lakers on a one-year veteran minimums deal.

He joins a very talented and experienced team led by his longtime friend, LeBron James. The two have been friends dating back to high school when they played against each other. They were taken in the same draft class in 2003, played on multiple USA teams together, and developed a nice relationship over the years.

It has been rumored that Anthony always had a desire to play with James, and it looks like it has finally come to fruition.

Besides a championship, Anthony has all the individual career accolades you can ask for. He is a ten-time All-Star, three-time gold medalist, one-time scoring champ, top 10 all-time NBA scorer, etc.

He has averaged a remarkable 23 points per game in his career and is known as one of the best scorers in NBA history.

Melo almost retired a couple of seasons ago

Not too long ago, Anthony was essentially viewed as a washed-up veteran who was looking for a team to sign him after the Houston Rockets decided to waive him at the start of the 2018-2019 season. In fact, many believed that no team would ever give him another chance.

Thankfully for Carmelo, however, the Portland Trail Blazers decided to sign him.

It was then that he showed the league that he still has some game left in the tank. He was a spark coming off Portland’s bench as he averaged 13.4 and 15.4 points per game in his last two seasons.

Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum also showed a lot of praise for the former All-Star, which went a long way.

Heading into this year, Carmelo will have to carve out a role for himself amongst a crowded Lakers roster led by LeBron, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook. I presume he will fill a six-man type of role where he can lead the second unit in scoring while the starters are not on the floor.

Since the Lakers are such an experienced team this year, I believe these veterans will be able to figure it out amongst themselves. It will be up to Frank Vogel to manage the rotation, but I do not believe he will have to deal with players clashing with one another. After all, most of the veterans on the team have previous relationships with one another, which only helps the team chemistry going forward.

It is not far-fetched to believe that Anthony turned down more money to come play in Los Angeles. This will be his last chance to not only get to the Finals for the first time in his career but ultimately capture an NBA championship.

I suspect Anthony will be as motivated as he has ever been before. This would be a great end to a remarkable career for Melo if they indeed win it all.