LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Carmelo Anthony are all legends in their own right, they are Hall of Famers, who have changed the game in a lot of ways. LBJ has put himself in the GOAT conversation, Dwyane Wade won 3 championships and a Finals MVP, and Carmelo Anthony will be remembered as one of the best pure scorers to ever play the game.
But in the minds of most fans, both James and Wade are a tier above Carmelo. This has been due to a distinct lack of team success in Melo’s career as well as the way his career has petered out towards the end. For 3 players that started their careers touted to become NBA greats, Melo has not been able to reach the same heights that his draft mates have.
Perception also plays a part in this, but his decisions and performances are ultimately why this has occurred. All three were seen in the same context recently when the Redeem Team documentary dropped. And that has sparked some conversation about Melo’s career, with some fans making interesting insights.
A Fan Pointed Out A Moment In The Redeem Team Documentary That Shows Why Carmelo Anthony Didn’t Reach The Same Heights As LeBron James And Dwyane Wade
A major plot point in the documentary about the 2008 Redeem Team is the way Kobe Bryant inspired the young superstars to become great in their own right. There was a story about them coming back from the club at 5:30 and seeing Kobe working out. And Melo’s comment in that stuck out to one fan.
Carmelo Anthony: “Once you start seeing the greats in there doing their thing and leading that pack, it’s like I’m there, I’m with you… Imma be honest with you. I wasn’t going at no f**king 4:30. That’s too early.”
LeBron James and Dwyane Wade were there in the gym as early as Kobe, though, even if Melo thought that was too early and went a little later. And fans think this shows the difference between them.
“This when Bron and Wade became significantly better than Melo.”
“Melo was still top 5 scorer in the league without working out at 4:30 AM.”
“Mans got his sleep …& by consequence, regularly got the entire postseason off too.”
“Melo should of worked on being a athlete.”
“Melo didn’t have that extra gear… he still great though.”
“Wade and Bron were just different.”
“You can’t compare all these, Wade and Bron mentality was different to Melo.”
“That’s why they’re champions and he’s not.”
“They won multiple rings for a reason, dawg.”
“Dang, Carmelo should’ve woken up.”
“Shows the difference in the mental aspect.”
“It’s crazy to think what Melo could’ve become.”
There’s no denying that Carmelo Anthony has enjoyed a stellar career regardless of the lack of championships. He will always be remembered as a great scorer; he’s 9th on the all-time points scored list. But there will always be questions about how his career would have panned out if he had committed more than he did.
