Has Carmelo Anthony Underachieved?
The date was June 26, 2003 and the Detroit Pistons who were just a player or two away from winning a NBA Championship was on the clock and the best player available was Anthony Anthony. However, Pistons GM Joe Dumars decided to go with Darko Milicic as the second overall pick. People were astonished by the pick but maybe Dumars knew something we didn’t. The Pistons still went on to win the Championship the following season and make it back to the Finals in 2005, and Anthony has gone on to have an underwhelming and underachieving career.
Anthony has never been thought of as a defensive stopper but people have questioned just the sheer effort and desire he displays on defense. The lack of effort has made him almost unwanted and when most people start to discuss best players in the league that is their biggest argument against him. Anthony is a 10x all-star, a 2x All-NBA second team, and a 4x All-NBA third team.
Anthony has best regarded as one of the best scorers in the NBA and one of the most talented offensive players of his generation. With those accolades a player should have multiple scoring titles. Well, Anthony only has one and has never averaged 30ppg in a season in his career. He does have nine seasons where he finished in the top 10 in scoring of which six are top 5.
That scoring however is the only thing he brings to the table as he has had six seasons where the 6’8” forward hasn’t averaged seven rebounds. He averaged a career high 8.1 rebounds in 2013-2014 season and has a career average of just over three assists per game. So let’s add this up, he can score, but not a very good rebounder, not a willing passer, and not committed to the defensive end of the floor. Let’s see if that translates to team success.
The Playoffs are where stars are separated from superstars and it’s about winning. Anthony’s teams are 23-44 overall in the playoffs and 3-10 in playoff series. Two of the three series wins came in the same year, 2009, and was the only time he reached a Conference Finals. The last four seasons his team has not qualified for the playoffs.
Unfortunately for Anthony he was drafted in the same class as LeBron James and will forever be compared to arguably the greatest player ever. But just taking Carmelo Anthony's career in a vacuum with the expectations of the second overall player who as a freshman at Syracuse led them to a National Championship it has been a little disappointing.
