With Father’s Day just around the corner, Carmelo Anthony and his son, Kiyan, were featured on the latest episode of Instagram’s Close Friends Only series. At one point, Anthony was asked to draft his personal All-Star lineup, and he went with some big names.
“I’ll go with Chris Paul because I played with Chris Paul for two Olympics,” Anthony said. “So, CP, [Michael Jordan], LeBron [James], [Kevin] Durant, and myself.”
Chris Paul is Anthony’s point guard, and he is one of the finest players we have seen at the position. Paul has career averages of 17.0 points, 4.4 rebounds, 9.2 assists, 2.0 steals, and 0.2 blocks per game. He has made 12 All-Star, 11 All-NBA, and nine All-Defensive teams.
Michael Jordan was his next pick, and he is widely regarded as the greatest player of all time. Jordan won six titles, six Finals MVPs, five MVPs, a DPOY, and 10 scoring titles. He finished his career with averages of 30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 2.3 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game. Jordan also made 14 All-Star, 11 All-NBA, and nine All-Defensive Teams.
Jordan’s closest challenger for that GOAT title is LeBron James, and Anthony chose him next. James has won four titles, four Finals MVPs, four MVPs, a scoring title, and an assists title. He is the NBA’s all-time leading scorer and has career averages of 27.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 7.4 assists, 1.5 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game. James has made 21 All-Star, 21 All-NBA, and six All-Defensive teams.
Anthony then went with James’ great rival, Kevin Durant. Durant has won two titles, two Finals MVPs, an MVP, and four scoring titles. He averages 27.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 1.0 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game for his career. Durant has made 15 All-Star and 11 All-NBA teams.
Lastly, we get to Anthony himself. He won a scoring title (2013) in his career and finished with averages of 22.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.0 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game. Anthony made 10 All-Star and six All-NBA teams.
That’s a pretty good lineup. Interestingly, three of the picks here were also included in Anthony’s all-time Team USA starting five.
“Myself, Durant, LeBron, and then I would have to go to Kobe. Michael would be there, but for USA, I would put Barkley.”
Anthony, James, and Durant are the only male basketball players to have won at least three Olympic gold medals and are pretty much locks. Durant set the new record with four after winning the gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Kobe Bryant and Charles Barkley, who were in this lineup instead of Jordan and Paul, meanwhile, won two gold medals each.
