Darko Milicic shared his honest opinion about being selected with the No. 2 pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, behind LeBron James but before Carmelo Anthony.
“He’s the one who is still whining about this till today, why are you whining today brother? You were third, what do you want, brother? Are you crazy?”
Then Mile Ilic asked Darko Milicic about how did he destroy Carmelo Anthony’s career, prompting a very interesting response from the Serbian big man.
“He is the one who destroyed my career, not me to him. It would be better if I were third. Maybe I would still play. He would be picking apples now. Better for him to be quiet, everything is fine.”
The bad blood between the two goes back to Draft night in 2003 when the Detroit Pistons elected to choose Milicic over Anthony with the No. 2 overall pick. Carmelo would be drafted No. 3 to the Nuggets, heading to a lottery team while Darko was headed to a playoff contender who had acquired the pick.
Anthony naturally thought he was better and saw Milicic not only get selected ahead of him, but win a championship as a rookie with the Pistons. Anthony tried dragging the Nuggets to the NBA Finals for seven years but never got past the Conference Finals. He would end up retiring without a ring, while Darko’s career ended after 10 years as a role player in the NBA.
Anthony is inarguably the better NBA player, with many holding that opinion in 2003 as well. But the fact that Anthony was snubbed at No. 2 and spent his entire career chasing something Milicic earned as a rookie at the end of the bench irked the legendary scorer.
Darko Milicic Thinks Carmelo Anthony Needs To Move On
Anthony appeared on Dwyane Wade’s podcast, in which he said that he went looking for Darko at the gym in Detroit to beat him and a 1-on-1 to ensure he’d go ahead of him in the 2003 Draft. Milicic heard about this story and had a funny reaction regarding the same.
“I heard that he chased me, but I never saw him, I got no idea. If he wanted to see me, to find me, he knew where I was at that time. Those are their gangster stories – I searched for him to show him. What to show me? Emotion killed him, brother. He must calm down, as soon as possible.”
Milicic had reacted to similar comments before as well.
“Where can you find me now, when I’m the strongest, ha-ha. Brother Carmelo is probably really high, he’s bored, I don’t know. He ended his career, as far as I know, where he remembered me just now. Enjoy life, man. I would tell him to relax, play some nice music and enjoy himself. I really didn’t hear that he ever asked for me.”
Both players should just let this go. It’s clear that Milicic has a lot of hurt over his 10-year NBA stint and being put in a position where he failed, especially given the three picks after him are all Hall of Fame talents.
Anthony got all the individual recognition that Darko never even came close to, but it wasn’t enough given Darko has the one team accomplishment he spent his entire career trying to earn.
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