While former Knicks star Carmelo Anthony enjoyed a successful 19-year career in the NBA, his time in the league often gets discredited for his inability to win a championship. It’s too late for Melo to change that fact now, of course, but he can change the narrative around ring culture itself, which disproportionally weighs title wings over any other metric in the game.
“I just think that the mindset has shifted tremendously when it comes to ring culture,” said Anthony, via Complex. “Like, there’s no way that guys who haven’t won the ring shouldn’t still get the credit that they deserve. Barkley is who he is… we are who we are. So because we didn’t get win the NBA championship, we shouldn’t get credit? Like we should just be dismissed on everything? So I will always kind of disagree with that but as far as ring culture, I think people understand that not everybody can win it.”
There’s no argument against winning a championship being the pinnacle of basketball success, but there is more to the game, and more to one’s career, than winning titles.
Championships Aren’t Everything
When discussing the greatest NBA players ever, they all share one thing in common: they are all winners. This trait is true for most of the basketball icons we recognize today, like Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Magic Johnson, and Bill Russell who all have multiple championships to their name. Even so, championships are not determined by any one individual player. Rather, they are determined by multiple factors, including team play, opponent strength, and durability throughout the season.
So, for stars like Carmelo Anthony, Charles Barkley, Allen Iverson, and others, it’s not a total indictment on them that they weren’t able to win a Finals series. For some, they do everything they can to bring their team the ultimate victory, but they just don’t have enough support to go all the way. In the case of Melo, he never even reached a Finals during his nearly 20-year-long career, but there’s still a lot to be said about his run with the Knicks and the impact he had on the NBA game.
Carmelo Anthony Is A New York Legend
Anthony, 39, was initially drafted by the Nuggets in 2003 and spent eight seasons with the team, where he became a multiple-time NBA All-Star. During the 2009-2010 season, Melo specifically requested a trade to the Knicks, and it’s where he put together the best stretch of his entire career. Over seven seasons in New York, Anthony made the All-Star team every year and averaged 24.7 points per game as their only consistent performer for a long time before the arrival of Kristaps Porzingis.
Unfortunately, Anthony was unable to bring a title to New York his importance for the city in what would have otherwise been a miserable era for Knicks fans speaks volumes about the kind of impact he made in the community. So for a 10x All-Star, 6x All-NBA player, former scoring champion, and top 75 player ever, Carmelo Anthony is more than accomplished in the NBA and he’s got a lot to be proud of despite the lack of a championship.
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