By Dan Ferrara, NBA International
If there’s one thing that this summer’s NBA free agency taught us, it’s that loyalty in the game is quickly becoming an afterthought. Consider this: two homegrown legends and future Hall-of-Famers changed teams on a dime, completely blindsiding their respective franchises and leaving their GMs to pick up the pieces left in the aftermath of their earthquaking decisions.
Dwyane Wade – a Miami Heat lifer who has won three championships in South Beach, forcing the town to mockingly rename it “Wade County” – left as a free agent for the Chicago Bulls.
Kevin Durant – who actually predates the Oklahoma City Thunder franchise by playing his first season with the Seattle Supersonics – left behind fellow superstar Russell Westbrook and jumped on the bandwagon of the 73-win Golden State Warriors, to whom Durant’s Thunder blew a 3-1 series lead in the Western Conference Finals just one month before.
These two bombshells dropped in a free agency six years after LeBron James made his infamous “Decision” on national television to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers, his hometown team, to pursue rings at the time in Miami with Wade and Chris Bosh.
The moral of the story is that loyalty is hard to find in the modern NBA. And then there’s Carmelo Anthony, who can seemingly never win regardless of what he chooses to do. Let’s take a look at Anthony’s career and why he should be appreciated.
Anthony forced his way to the Knicks during the 2010 season and has since decided to stick through the losing, as the Knicks have gone 190-232 since his arrival and have missed the playoffs for three straight seasons. He could have left as a free agent in the summer of 2014. He could have forced his way out of town via trade when the Knicks endured a franchise-worst season the next year, finishing 17-65.
He didn’t. And he should be commended for it.
Instead, people frequently second-guess his decision, pegging the four-time United States Olympian and record three-time gold medal winner as a player incapable of winning.
Aside from his NCAA championship with Syracuse University and historic play in international competition with Team USA, the notion that Anthony can’t win in the NBA is ridiculous. He made the postseason in each of his first 10 seasons in the Association, but his Nuggets ran into dynasties such as the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs, often leading to first-round exits. The Knicks were also always a low seed, getting pummeled by the legendary “Big Three” of the Boston Celtics and then LeBron’s Miami Heat dynasty.
Championship rings don’t dictate greatness. Karl Malone, Charles Barkley and Patrick Ewing – three Hall of Famers and three of the best big men in NBA history – combined for 455 playoff games and never won a title. Robert Horry, who averaged seven points and less than five rebounds per game for his career, has seven rings.
So much of winning has to do with being on the right team at the right time. Take Wade for example, who had the privilege of playing with Shaquille O’Neal and LeBron in his career, winning three championships in tandem with the two legends. In seasons when Wade didn’t have either Shaq or LeBron on his team, his winning percentage is .472, while Anthony’s career winning percentage is .523. No superstar can win alone, and it’s not to take anything away from Wade’s tremendous career, just say that maybe Melo deserves more of a break.
Instead of getting caught up in the number of championship rings on Anthony’s fingers, perhaps people should focus on his incredible consistency through a whirlwind of change throughout his career.
Melo has played for two franchises in two conferences, yet has had seven head coaches and 245 teammates in his 13 seasons. He has had to be an instant superstar as a rookie, balance playing with Allen Iverson (who was a poor fit), fit into Amar’e Stoudemire’s Knicks before taking them over himself, endure “Linsanity” in New York, become a high-volume 3-point shooter under Mike D’Antoni, carry the offense through isolation under Mike Woodson, learn Phil Jackson’s “triangle offense” and now endure a rebuild as a superstar.
While everything about Melo’s circumstances scream inconsistency, he has managed to average over 20 points per game in each of his 13 seasons, joining LeBron as the only other player to accomplish that feat over that time period. He truly is one of the NBA’s greatest scorers, a potent offensive threat who can attack and abuse a defense in a multitude of ways. He can play both forward positions effectively, has proven to be a chameleon who can fit into any offense he’s tossed into, and is capable of going for 30 on any given night. He even scored 62 points, a Knicks franchise record and Madison Square Garden record, against the Charlotte Bobcats in 2014.
While knocks on Anthony include him being a “ball-stopper,” he averaged a career-high 4.2 assists per game last season to lead the Knicks in dishing. While he’s said to be a “chucker” or volume-shooter, his career field goal percentage is a more than respectable 45.3%.
Maybe Anthony doesn’t want to take the easy road. He knows that through perseverance, hardship and struggle, the championship will eventually taste that much sweeter. There’s nothing wrong with trying to overcome adversity, or trying to bring your storied hometown franchise, who hasn’t won since 1973, a championship.
It’s actually quite commendable.
