Newly retired forward Carmelo Anthony's career was closely intertwined with that of Lakers forward LeBron James.
The two were both picked in the iconic 2003 draft: James first by the Cavaliers and Anthony third by the Nuggets. They nearly met in the 2009 NBA Finals, though both players’ teams succumbed in the conference finals. Their friendship has been well-documented, and they were teammates in Los Angeles during Anthony’s final season.
Appropriately, James heaped praise upon Anthony as he announced his exit from basketball Monday morning.
“Congratulations, my brother. Where do I start?” James said in a video tweeted by the Lakers on Monday afternoon. “I could sit here and talk for hours and hours and hours. I’m just so proud of you, man, and so blessed that I was able to be a part of your journey. You’re one of the greatest players I’ve ever seen play.”
“You’re one of the greatest players I’ve ever seen.”
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) May 22, 2023
LeBron, AD, and Rui share their congratulations to @carmeloanthony. pic.twitter.com/vfiU46TkJ0
Los Angeles forwards Anthony Davis and Rui Hachimura also shared farewell messages for the 10-time All-Star.
“You really impacted this game more than you know. You helped me all the way back in 2012 when we first were on the Olympic team together,” Davis said. “The game is gonna miss you. I’m gonna miss seeing you out there on the floor.”
Anthony was noted as a particularly strong performer in international play, winning gold medals in Beijing in 2008, London in ’12 and Rio de Janeiro in ’16.
"Melo, you were my favorite player growing up," Hachimura said. "When I started playing basketball, I watched you a lot. I used you on 2K. I tried to copy your moves and everything. Thanks for being an inspiration... happy retirement and good luck on your other ventures."
