Carmelo Anthony on Team USA, Boomers battles and growing the global game
After 19 seasons in the NBA and four Olympics, Carmelo Anthony has become an ambassador for FIBA and the NBL, advocating for the international game.
There is no doubt that basketball nations outside the United States have been catching up over the last two decades, especially on the men’s side of the game. Starting in 2004 when Argentina shocked the world on their way to an Olympic gold medal, the United States have had to work much harder to ensure they remain atop the FIBA rankings.
But still, their focus has continued to be more on what happens in the NBA, than on who is doing what at FIBA World Cups or the Olympic Games. That is starting to change though, as ambassadors like Sue Bird on the women’s side and Carmelo Anthony on the men’s side, take a more active interest in supporting and promoting the global game.
Carmelo Anthony, a 10-time All-Star, and six-time All-NBA selection, became a FIBA ambassador for the 2023 FIBA World Cup and was also spotted courtside in Paris supporting his Team USA countrymen and women on their quests for gold.
Anthony was also announced in June as Global Ambassador for the NBL Next Stars program. As part of that appointment, Anthony will join ‘the ownership group of a future NBL expansion team.’
“In joining the NBL, I’m excited for the opportunity to not just elevate basketball in Australia, but to impact the global landscape of the sport,” Anthony said at the time.
“The recent pipeline of talent that has come out of the NBL and into the NBA has been extremely impressive, and the Next Stars program is a prime example of the league's commitment to nurturing talent and cultivating elite players. I look forward to working with the League to help play a role in shaping the future of basketball worldwide.”
Anthony is currently in Australia on a promotional tour, appearing at a number of speaking engagements, children’s clinics and promotional visits. And he will be front and centre at HoopsFest in Perth this weekend as he continues to get to know the NBL and the Australian Basketball landscape more and more.
On Tuesday night, Anthony had a speaking engagement in Melbourne at The Timber Yard where he touched on a number of aspects about his career, his upbringing, but also his role in helping to globalise the game of basketball.
Credit: Speak Communications
Moderated by NBL Media’s Peter Hooley, Anthony told the 900-strong crowd how he sometimes wishes he was still playing on the international stage. Seemingly still on a high over what he witnessed in Paris, he would love to be on the court in this era of FIBA basketball.
“Sometimes I sit back and say ‘damn, I wish I was playing in today’s game,’ because the game has been globalised. It’s not just an American game anymore. This is all over the world. This game is growing,” he said.
“So, for me to still be able to participate in that and play against the rest of the world, knowing that the game is growing globally, like this time is probably the best time to be playing because you get to see the talent and the skillset all over the world.
“As opposed to maybe just America, or one or two countries may have one or two players on the team, now you’re seeing full teams being developed. And that just shows you what the game of basketball has done – the way that they’re growing the game globally.”
Anthony built a reputation as one of the best players to ever don a Team USA jersey. In four Olympic Games, he averaged 10.8 points per game in 17.1 minutes. He helped the United States to three straight gold medals in 2008 (Beijing), 2012 (London) and 2016 (Rio) and averaged 13.3 points and 4.8 rebounds in those three tournaments, while hitting 51 of 106 threes at a clip of 48.1%.
He became the first USA male to play in four Olympics and in Rio, Anthony became his country's all-time leading Olympic scorer (336 points) and rebounder (125).
Something about putting USA across his chest brought the best out of him, and while ‘Hoodie Melo’ became a social media sensation for a while, ‘Olympic Melo’ or ‘FIBA Melo’ was real.
“For me, I just understood the stakes. I’ve always understood the stakes,” he explained.
“I’ve been at the bottom of Team USA basketball when we lost in 2004 and then came back in 2006 in the World Championships when we lose to Greece. I know those feelings.
“When you put that jersey on, the minute you put it on, something different comes over you. Because you really understand that it’s not about you. It’s not about the guys that are around you, it’s not even about the team that’s travelling with you. This is a whole country that you are going out there representing and being the face of.
“So, that’s a different level of pressure I would say.”
Of course, he seemed to thrive on that pressure on the Olympic stage. And that was always evident when he played against the Boomers.
In 2008 in Beijing, the USA “Redeem Team” faced the Boomers in the quarterfinals where Anthony had 15 points and 5 rebounds in 19 minutes on 5-9 shooting. In 2012 in London, again in the quarterfinals, he had 17 points and 4 rebounds in 20 minutes on 6-12 shooting.
While in Rio, in the pool round, with the Boomers leading by 5 points at halftime, Anthony went off for 31 points and 8 rebounds, hitting a ridiculous 9-15 threes in his 34 minutes on court. That performance, where Anthony scored 16 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter, became known as “The Carmelo Anthony Game.”
Anthony has fond memories of his battles with the Boomers over the years, even if they may not be shared by Australian fans. But he attributes that success to how the Boomers competed whenever they met.
“The Australian national team played so hard and played so physical, that it brought something different out of me,” he said.
“Understanding that I had to be this, in order for us to beat the Australian national team. So, I have a lot of love for the Australian national team.
“On the court maybe something different, but overall, we’re friends.”
Big games, especially offensively, were a trademark of Anthony’s career. He led the NBA in scoring in the 2012-13 season, averaged over 25 points per game in 9 of his 19 seasons, and retired as the ninth leading scorer in NBA history – although he now sits tenth as Kevin Durant has passed him.
Anthony, the third overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft – widely regarded as one of the best drafts in NBA history – had a penchant for big offensive outbursts. He scored 40 or more points on thirty-six occasions, had exactly 50 points three separate times, and topped out with a career-high 62 points against the Charlotte Bobcats in January 2014.
It was a tough season that year for Anthony, with the New York Knicks struggling to win games consistently after a very strong season the year prior. So for Anthony, that moment had particular significance and he tried to convey what it felt like to be in that kind of mindset.
“It’s hard to explain. Honestly, it’s hard to explain. That moment and the backstory of us losing games, the fans were turning on us, the media’s turning on us and you’ve got fans at the game with brown paper bags on their heads. It’s embarrassing.
“So, the 62-point game was a ‘F…k You’ game. And I say that because of all the things that I was dealing with leading up to that. Losing, the media and being blamed for everything, and not being able to tell your side of the story but still having to go out there and compete, play and try to win.
“This was a moment that I had to deal with in New York, so the 62-point game was like, ‘No, f..k all of y’all. I don’t care what none of y’all have to say. I am super locked in today.’
“And I felt it when I first woke up, that this is one of them days. I don’t care what nobody says, the negative energy is out the window and I’m getting into this tunnel vision of going out there and being great.”
“I didn’t even smile in that game. If you go back and look, I was really mad in that game. But, sixty-two points – I’ll take it.”
From leading Syracuse to an unexpected National Championship as a freshman in 2003, to the Denver Nuggets run to the Western Conference Finals in 2009, to briefly restoring hope to Knicks fans with earning the Eastern Conference’s number two seed in 2013, that game was one of many times over the course of Anthony’s career where he made fans appreciate what a special talent he was.
Nowadays, Anthony is looking for tomorrow’s talent and does that with his various ambassador roles. Whether it’s helping to promote the FIBA game, supporting his former Knicks in their recent playoff run or getting involved in the NBL, Anthony is just a fan of the game and wants to help it continue to thrive.
His role with the NBL wouldn’t have come to be, if not for the growth of the league. The Next Stars program has brought global eyeballs to this part of the world, but it’s the standard of the league that has really caught Anthony’s attention and why he has decided to get involved, both with the Next Stars program and in taking an ownership stake in future.
And that is all part of the continued globalisation of the sport. From 2004 to now, the standard of play outside the United States keeps lifting around the world. But Anthony was especially complimentary about the NBL and he’ll continue to sing its praises as he continues his post-career journey.
“I mean, [if] we just talk about the NBL. The NBL, to me, is the second best league in the world,” he said with conviction.
“So, to have that – and it’s just the beginning, it’s very small right now – for us in America and the NBA and the rest of the leagues around the world to look at that league and say ‘okay that’s a serious league’, that’s a big deal.
“So for me, I have to keep doing what I’m doing and travelling, spreading the word and really trying to globalise this game of basketball.”
The Pick and Roll were guests of Speak Communications at the Timber Yard event.