Carmelo Anthony

Carmelo Kyam Anthony ( kar-MEL-oh; born May 29, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "Melo", Anthony played 19 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and is a ten-time NBA All-Star and six-time All-NBA Team member. He played college basketball for the Syracuse Orange, winning a national championship as a freshman in 2003 while being named the NCAA Tournament's Most Outstanding Player. In 2021, he was named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team, and is regarded as one of the greatest scorers in NBA history. He was inducted twice into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2025, as an individual player and also as a member of the 2008 U.S. Olympic team.

After one season at Syracuse, Anthony entered the 2003 NBA draft and was selected with the third overall pick by the Denver Nuggets. While playing for Denver, he led the Nuggets to the playoffs every year from 2004 to 2010; the team won two division titles in that span. In 2009, Anthony led the Nuggets to their first conference finals appearance since 1985. In 2011, he was traded from Denver to the New York Knicks days before the NBA trade deadline. In a January 24, 2014, game against the Charlotte Bobcats, Anthony scored a career-high 62 points, setting a Knicks' single-game scoring record and a Madison Square Garden single-game scoring record. Anthony was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder, where he played one season before a short stint with the Houston Rockets. He spent two seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers before finishing off his career with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Anthony has played in the Olympics for the US national team a record four times, winning a bronze medal with the 2004 squad and gold medals on the 2008, 2012, and 2016 teams. As of April 2016, he was the US Olympic team's all-time leader in points, rebounds, and games played. He currently ranks eleventh among NBA career scoring leaders.