Associated PressReading: 3 min.
Melo revisits his journey as a player and talks about his legacy
With a video on his social networks, Melo said goodbye to NBA fans, reviewed his journey through the best league on the planet and talked about his legacy.
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 absent from the NBA this season, retired as the ninth leading scorer in league history.
“Now it’s time to say goodbye … to the game that gave me purpose and pride,” Anthony said in a video message announcing his decision, which he described as “bittersweet.”
Anthony’s legacy has long been secure: He ends his playing days as one of the 75 greatest players in NBA history, a 10-time All-Star, a scoring champion and a six-time All-NBA selection.
Although he never made it to the NBA Finals (he did play in the conference finals once with Denver against the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers in 2009), Anthony knew what it was like to be a champion.
He was the MVP of the 2003 Final Four, 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 played in four Olympics out of 31 sports, the most of any American male athlete in history. Anthony’s 37 points against Nigeria in the 2012 Games was a USA Basketball men’s record in an Olympics, as were 10 3-pointers in that game and 13-of-13 attempts from the free throw line against Argentina in 2008.
It will continue to be a part of international basketball for at least a few more months; Anthony is one of the ambassadors for FIBA’s biggest event, the Basketball World Cup, which will be held this summer in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia.
