Carmelo Anthony knows a thing or two about scoring, having gone down as one of the greatest scorers the NBA has ever seen. Recently on his 7PM in Brooklyn podcast, the 39-year-old revealed the players in NBA history whom he considers to be pure scorers.
(starts at 58:41 mark):
Anthony went with himself, Kevin Durant, Tracy McGrady, Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant, Stephen Curry, Kyrie Irving, Larry Bird, George Gervin, Bernard King, Jamal Crawford, J. R. Smith, Monta Ellis, Brandon Roy, Joe Johnson, Spencer Haywood, Jerry West, James Harden, and Devin Booker.
Some of the greatest bucket-getters the league has ever seen are on that list, but there are some surprises there as well. Anthony added that the likes of LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo are not pure scorers. For those wondering what exactly Anthony means by that, he explained it as well (starts at the 57:34 mark in the above video).
“Pure scoring is like guys that’s just gonna figure it out and know how to get a bucket in any situation,” Anthony stated. “Those are different than the best scorers, top 10 scorers, or somebody who’s averaging 30. No, we’re talking about pure scoring. There’s only like 10 guys in the history of the NBA who is pure. If I put you in that corner, you’ll get a bucket, if I put you outside, you’ll get a bucket.”
The names Anthony mentioned do fit that criteria. You also get why someone like LeBron or Giannis might not necessarily be considered here. They can average 30 points per game but are not pure scorers.
Carmelo Anthony Named The Seven Pure Hoopers In Basketball
Carmelo does seem to have a thing for pureness when it comes to the sport. Last year, Anthony revealed who are the seven pure hoopers in basketball.
“You can put them anywhere in the world, any court, any ball, any basket and they’ll get to it,” said Anthony in a chat with Overtime. “Allen Iverson is a pure hooper, Tracy McGrady, JR Smith, Lou Will, Jamal Crawford, KD, and myself.”
There is only one from this group who did not make that list of pure scorers, Lou Williams. The six others did, with Smith and Crawford somewhat surprisingly being in both.
If we go by how Anthony views the game, you do get that, though. Both Smith and Crawford were all about putting the ball in the basket and, at their best, did it at an exceptional rate.
Carmelo Anthony Says Dwyane Wade Was The Best SG In The League In His Prime
Anthony also had some praise for his good friend Dwyane Wade during this episode. While he wasn’t a pure scorer or hooper, Anthony said Wade was the best shooting guard in the league during his prime.
“I don’t think people understand how bad of a mothaf*cker Dwyane Wade was,” said Melo. “He was probably the best at shot creation. When he was on his sh*t, arguably, he was the best two-guard in the league.”
Wade was incredible at his peak, even winning a scoring title in the 2008-09 season, when he averaged 30.2 points per game. I wouldn’t give him the title of best shooting guard of that time, though, as I would go with Bryant. Kobe was dominant basically throughout the 2000s and for me, was simply better than Wade even at his best.
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