2023-05-24 07:35:00
Deciding to hang up the sneakers for good at the start of the week, Carmelo Anthony leaves behind a career as a Hall of Famer. A career as a Hall of Famer but without a champion ring, Melo having never participated in the NBA Finals in the space of 20 years. Does it eat him away? Not anymore.
Over the past decade and the advent of social media, perhaps more than ever the champion ring has served as validation when judging an NBA player’s career. The “ring culture” has become predominant, sometimes even toxic, and partly explains why several superstars (hello Kevin Durant) have decided to form superteams to maximize their chances of reaching the Grail.
Whether it’s with the Nuggets, the Knicks or the other teams in which he was able to evolve, Carmelo Anthony has never managed to go all the way, he who has only one Conference Final (with Denver in 2009) to his credit. He is one of the best players in history to never have won the title, along with Allen Iverson, Pat Ewing, Karl Malone, Elgin Baylor, Charles Barkley and a few others. He is even the best all-time scorer (9th with 28,289 points) never to have played in the NBA Finals. Obviously, there was a time when all this bothered him, especially when you come from the same Draft as LeBron James (4 titles) and Dwyane Wade (3 titles). But that time now seems to be over.
“I am at peace. It doesn’t bother me anymore; this idea that you’re a loser if you don’t win the NBA title,” Melo told Sports Illustrated.
In my eyes, I won. I won in 2003, when I shook hands with David Stern in the Draft. I made it out of Red Hook [le quartier situé à Brooklyn, où il est né, NDLR.]. I have succeeded in my life. The ring is the only thing I failed to obtain. It would have been a great achievement, but I have no regrets because I feel like I tried everything to get it.”
It’s always a matter of perspective.
When you grew up in the neighborhood of Red Hook (Brooklyn, New York), dubbed the “American capital of crack” by the magazine Life in the 1990s, getting out of it is already a victory in itself. So make it through to the NBA, become one of the top ten scorers in league history, and raise over $400 million. during his career, it’s worth all the rings in the world. And then let’s not forget that he won a university title with Syracuse in 2003 before joining the big leagues, as well as three Olympic gold medals with Team USA (record shared with Kevin Durant).
.@carmeloanthony is at peace with his retirement.
One of the most exciting—and divisive players—in NBA history explains his decision to retire and what the future holds with @Herring_NBA
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) May 23, 2023
Carmelo Anthony will probably never be unanimous, he who is considered by some as one of the best all-time attackers and by others as an individualist player unable to sublimate his team. There are even some who will continue to attach a loser label to him. And Melo is OK with that.
Because as he says, today he is at peace.
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Source texte : Sports Illustrated
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