Carmelo Anthony, a former 10-time All-Star and six-time All-NBA selection, officially retired from NBA. Check out his Retirement video here.
Carmelo Anthony : Retirement video | Atlanta Hawks
Anthony was born in the Red Hook housing projects in Brooklyn, New York City.
His father, Carmelo Iriarte, was born in Manhattan to Puerto Rican parents. Iriarte was of African, Spanish, and indigenous ancestry; some of his roots also traced to Venezuela. His mother, Mary Anthony, is African-American.
Iriarte died of cancer when Anthony was two years old. When Anthony turned eight, his family moved to Baltimore.
Anthony commuted to Towson Catholic High School for his first three years of high school.
During the summer of 1999, Anthony grew five inches into the frame of a 6–5 swingman.
He suddenly became one of the area’s top players and made a name for himself in the area, being named The Baltimore Sun’s metro player of the year in 2001, as well as Baltimore Catholic League player of the year.
Carmelo Anthony Retirement video
Carmelo Anthony, one of the greatest scorers the NBA has ever seen, has announced his retirement from basketball at the age of 38.
The third pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, Anthony enjoyed an illustrious 19-year career that included 10 NBA All-Star appearances, six All-NBA selections, a scoring title and a place on the NBA’s 75th anniversary team.
His ability to score the basketball made him one of the most feared and box office players in the league for much of his time in the NBA and his 28,289 career points places him ninth on the all-time scoring list.
As a member of Team USA, Anthony won three Olympic gold medals – Rio in 2016, London in 2012 and Beijing in 2008 – and one bronze at Athens 2004.
“I remember the days when I had nothing, just a ball on the court and dream of something more,” Anthony said in his retirement video. “But basketball was my outlet, my purpose was strong, my communities, the cities I represented with pride and the fans that supported me along the way.
“I am forever grateful for those people and places because they made me: Carmelo Anthony.
“But now the time has come for me to say goodbye – to the court where I made my name to the game that gave me purpose and pride, but this is a bittersweet goodbye to the NBA. I am excited about what the future holds for me.”
Anthony began his career with the Nuggets and quickly cemented his place among the league’s leading talents.
Atlanta Hawks
Carmelo Anthony’s storied career with the Atlanta Hawks came to a close as soon as it started, but it was a damn good one.
The veteran forward was traded for, and immediately waived by, the Hawks on Thursday, ending a legendary tenure in the red, white, and volt. In that time, we all took a few breaths, and blinked a couple of times. I also sent a tweet.
Anthony will be moving on to greener pastures. Not just because he will be going to a better team (it’s probably going to be the Rockets), but because of a nice $27.9 million buyout.
That’s like getting two seasons of Joe Johnson money in the snap of a finger for none of the work — now that is legendary.
With all that said, I’m honored to officially introduce Melo as Atlanta’s latest inductee into what my esteemed colleague Jason Kirk has dubbed the “Fling of Honor.”
The Hawks tweeted an image of Anthony’s name and number on a Hawks jersey.
“Hell of a career. Congrats, @carmeloanthony,” the tweet said.
Anthony was traded by the Oklahoma City Thunder in a 3-team trade on July 25 and ended up in Atlanta.
But Anthony never had any intention of playing for the Hawks, and they knew that. They bought him out five days later, ending his brief time with the team.
Anthony joked at the time that he wanted a Hawks jersey with his name on the back. The Hawks delivered, and even LeBron James had a great joke about it.