Carmelo Anthony, the star forward who led Syracuse to the NCAA championship in his only college season and spent 19 years in the NBA, announced his retirement on Monday.
Anthony, who was not in the NBA this season, retires as the #9 leading scorer in league history.
Only LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Dirk Nowitzki, Wilt Chamberlain and Shaquille O’Neal have scored more than Anthony – who finished his career with 28,289 points.
“Now is the time to say goodbye… to the game that gave me purpose and pride,” Anthony said in a videotaped message announcing his decision.
Anthony’s legacy has always been secure: he finished playing days after being named one of the 75 Greatest Players in NBA History, a 10-time All-Star, former scoring champion, and 6-time NBA All-Star.
And even though he’s never made it to the NBA Finals — he’s only played once in the Conference Finals, 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 in the 2003 Final Four when he led Syracuse to the national championship, and helped USA basketball win Olympic gold three times – in Beijing in 2008, in London in 2012, and in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
Anthony has played 31 games in four games at the Olympics, the most of any American player ever. Anthony scored 37 points against Nigeria in the 2012 Games, a men’s basketball record at the Olympics, as did his 10 3-pointers from that game and his 13-for-13 attempts from the foul streak against Argentina in 2008.
“Carmelo Anthony is one of the all-time great NBA ambassadors and players,” said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. “We congratulate him on an incredible 19-year career and look forward to seeing him inducted into the Hall of Fame.”
Anthony will remain a part of international basketball for at least a few more months; Anthony is one of the ambassadors for the FIBA 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 in the field and a dream about something else,” said Anthony. “But basketball was my outlet. My goal was strong, my communities, the cities I proudly represented and the fans who supported me along the way. I am forever grateful to those people and places for making me Carmelo Anthony.”
Ranked third overall by Denver in 2003, Anthony is part of a star-studded class that included James at No. 1, Hall of Famer Chris Bosh at No. 4, and soon-to-be Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade — officially inducted this summer — ranked fifth.
Anthony would join them in the Hall of Fame long after. He averaged 22.5 points in his 19 seasons, and spent the bulk of those years with Denver and the New York Knicks. Anthony has always cared about his time with the Knicks, and what it was like to play at Madison Square Garden, especially as a kid born in Brooklyn.
“The park, they call it Mecca for a reason,” Anthony said in 2014.
Anthony also played for Portland, Oklahoma City and Houston and ended his career with the Lakers last season. He went unsigned this year, and now he’s officially retired.
He said in his retirement speech that he looks forward to watching the development of his son, Keanu, a high school shooting guard.
“People ask what I think my legacy is,” said Anthony. “It’s not my exploits on the court that come to mind, all the accolades or praise. Because my story has always been about more than basketball. My legacy, son… I will live on through you forever. It’s time for you to carry that torch.”
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