The beauty of sport is not always in winning. There is more than titles, numbers and crowns. There is the feeling of transcending. The one to flag generations. Be the password of each discipline. And, for this reason, the sport is a little sadder after knowing the defeat of Carmelo Anthony (Brooklyn, 1984). One of the modern references of the NBA. A giant based on talent and scoring. The King without a crown.
Because the total numbers do not say everything. ‘Melo’ did not win any championship ring, but he transcended with his talent facing the hoop. Setting up the shot, looking for the hoop, finding the basket. Repeatedly. During a career of almost two decades, in which he spearheaded all kinds of projects. Denver and New York, at the head of everything. Missed winning, but it didn’t matter.
In addition, he also won. Carmelo was a leader of the generation of the United States National Team that changed the culture lost after the Dream Team of 1992. Three Olympic golds (2008, 2021 and 2016), the player with the most games in the Olympic team (31), points (336), shots scored (113), attempted (262), three-pointers attempted (139), rebounds (125), free throws made (53) and released (71).
Carmelo, at the last second
From the 2003 litter… to the love of scoring
Carmelo it was a walking ‘basket’. Literal English definition, but unbeatable rendering. It all started in that 2003 litter, when he presented himself as a generational rival to LeBron James. He stormed in, clinching the national title with Syracuse. His final, with 20+10+7, went down in history. The third rookie to be MVP.
The NBA arrived -three from the Draft- and with the Denver Nuggets he led. But he clashed with Kobe Bryant as a tyrannical rival in the West, which kept him from fighting for a ring. The six games in the 2009 conference final marked a record. He left with 27.5 points on average. But it would never be the same again.
Denver did not improve the team and in the winter period it was the solution for the New York Knicks to end a losing streak that had stretched since 1973. The most iconic franchise, without rings. But Carmelo did not make it, although he was the leader of the Knicks and became third in the race for the MVP. Seven times All-Star, but at the same time the most polarizing. His style, a strong scorer, did not always convince. Although the data is indisputable: 26.5 points on average in his first three courses -the second with the best average mark of all time-. On the opposite side, 14 losses in 20 postseason games.
The wear devastated his final stint in New York, to end up falling to Oklahoma, Houston, Portland and the Los Angeles Lakers. He remained faithful to shooting, although his role became more of a shooter in certain contexts than anything else. He didn’t get that title. But it was more than that. I do not care.
Carmelo’s best game with the Knicks
The value Carmel
Carmelo had a value of his own. On his service sheet, 10 All-Star, leading scorer in 2013 and member of the 75 greatest players of all time. And more there, an aesthetic element, differential basketball… that he fell in love with. To cities, like New York. And fans who exalted him in an era without as much predilection for attack as the current one. Carmelo was a God among gods. A King without a crown. As if that mattered…
2023-05-22 14:35:43
#goodbye #genius #scoring #crown
