“Melo,” a trending topic on Twitter a few days ago, perfectly portrays the changing of an era in the history of the NBA. The trend brought up an interesting debate of whether the nickname should be used for LaMelo Ball, a rising star in the NBA, or of course now-role player Carmelo Anthony.
For years now, Carmelo Anthony has been counted out as an impactful NBA player. Even two years ago there were questions of if Carmelo would ever play again because no team would give him another opportunity.
Luckily, for Carmelo, and all basketball fans, the Portland Trail Blazers gave him a chance, and the Melo era is not yet finished, as he has been a fantastic role player for them since.
Carmelo Anthony the role player
It seemed for a while Carmelo Anthony was not willing to take a diminished role as a role player.
But he has cherished and thrived in that role in Portland. His recent play has even lead to talks of a possible All-Star game appearance.
Melo’s game the past month-plus has made many NBA fans reminisce about the superstar Carmelo was throughout his career.
About the era of Melo in Denver making the Western Conference Finals. Or the solid and tough NY Knicks squads that he made fashionable again.
So let us reminisce together.
Carmelo Anthony is CLUTCH
In an Easter classic on April 8th, 2012, Carmelo Anthony delivered a game that will never be forgotten. A nail biter that went back and forth, featured two clutch 3 point shots that gave the Knicks the win.
The first shot, which was a last-second shot in the 4th quarter, tied the game, which brought the game into overtime. And the second gave the Knicks the win.
Now of course Carmelo had other moments prior to this game with the Knicks that were amazing, but this one was truly magical. A moment that made MSG shake from top to bottom.
This was the Melo era in New York at its finest. And as us New Yorkers know, there is no equivalent to MSG when it is rocking.
Carmelo Anthony scores 62
A night a record was broken. January 24th, 2014 would go down in history, and that is all thanks to Carmelo Anthony.
Why? Because this was the day that Carmelo Anthony surpassed Kobe Bryant’s 61 points, which was the record for the most points ever scored at Madison Square Garden, before Anthony’s 62.
The photo above, shows Carmelo taking the shot that gave him the record. You can see the awe in the spectators’ eyes, as they were nervously waiting to see if they were about to witness history.
And boy did they ever. This was a different era of Melo that makes us happy to reminisce upon.
Carmelo wins gold…for the 3rd time
In 2016, people began to question if Melo still had it, if he was still a go-to superstar. Well, that question quickly stopped when he went overseas with Team USA.
Melo quickly became the go-to player for team USA and one of the stars of an unstoppable era. And he showed the whole world how truly great he still was.
Not to mention Melo brought home his 3rd gold medal with team USA!
Carmelo will always be Melo
There are countless moments throughout Carmelo’s 20-year career that make you remember how truly great Carmelo was. That make you happy for the Melo era where he rivaled LeBron James and Kobe Bryant.
However there is still a lot left to Anthony’s career, so if you are an NBA fan, continue to appreciate and watch in awe as an all-time great plays in front of you.
