Many people trashed Carmelo Anthony. The players were always in his corner
Many in the media and NBA fandom gave up on Carmelo Anthony after his disappointing stint with the Houston Rockets, which lasted only 10 games. Melo spent an entire year in basketball purgatory with many thinking we wouldn’t see him on an NBA court again. That was until the Blazers took a chance of him and the 10-time All-Star started to deliver.
Before that, there were slights aplenty for Anthony. But rarely coming from players, who time and time again expressed support for him.
Here are some of the things his NBA peers said about legendary forward to prop him up when he was down:
Evan Fournier, November 2018
Wilson Chandler, November 2018
More than half the people that hate Melo don’t even know why. I know why, because the media told them to.
Allen Iverson, November 2018
Tyson Chandler, November 2018
LeBron James, December 2018
I believe Melo can still play the game. I believe I can help Melo. I know Melo better than Melo knows himself at times, and vice versa. So if the opportunity presents itself I would welcome it. That’s what it all boils down to.
James Harden, January 2019
I just want to see him hoop, see him happy, and I mean, he deserves it, honestly. Like, he’s put so much time and effort into this game that he should be able to hoop and still have fun playing the game of basketball.
Dwyane Wade, January 2019
LeBron James, January 2019
Magic Johnson, July 2019
I think Melo still has a lot left. A bona fide scorer. So, I know for a fact there’s a lot of teams that he can help. I hate to see him not playing especially in the NBA at this point.
Damian Lillard, July 2019
Zach LaVine, August 2019
Isaiah Thomas, August 2019
Taurean Prince, September 2019
Dwyane Wade, September 2019
He’s a brother of mine and a great friend and I’m just very disappointed that he’s not in the NBA because he doesn’t deserve that as a person. Melo is one of the best individual people I know and a lot of people don’t know that because things that have been said about him in the past. Hopefully he gets an opportunity to be with a team this season because he has a lot to still offer the right team in the right role and the right situation.
Marcus Morris, September 2019
Walt Frazier, September 2019
I don’t like what’s happening to him. He should have a swan song. I’m confident that somebody will give him a chance.
Steve Nash, September 2019
He is one of the truly great scorers the league’s had. He’s still got something to offer.
Stephen Jackson, October 2019
They put him in a situation they know he’s not going to succeed, make it look like he can’t play no more, make it look like he’s a cancer and just push him out. And once they get you to that point where you’re a cancer or you can’t play no more, it’s a text that’s sent out to every team — it’s a mass text that sent out to every team, every team’s CC’d, ‘Don’t f— with him.
LeBron James, November 2019
Donovan Mitchell, November 2019
Trae Young, November 2019
Bismack Biyombo, November 2019
LeBron James, December 2019
Proud of him. I don’t know if he needed to hear it or not, but I’m f—— proud of him. Like, really like a blood brother.
Will Barton, December 2019
It’s crazy the disrespect a guy that good gets on social media. You look on Twitter and Instagram, they’re kind of always clowning him. But real basketball heads know how good that guy is and he’s a special talent. It’s crazy that some of the kids in this generation are going to think of him in that way because he’s really good, and he was really good in his prime.
Russell Westbrook, August 2020
Melo is a Hall of Famer, man. He’s an unbelievable teammate. It’s always good to see him do well, play well. He belongs in this league. He’s shown that time in and time out.