He was, for a time, the forgotten star.With Dwayne Wade serving as the face of a championship team and Lebron James the newfound face of the entire NBA, the ?other? high profile draftee of the 2003 draft seemed to be an enigma. We all watched as Wade and James took the reigns of the NBA from Shaquille O?Neal and Kobe Bryant, but where was Anthony? Where was the player who was once arguably as good a prospect as Lebron?Lebron James and Carmelo Anthony came into the NBA with an unprecedented stardom, superstars before they had ever even logged a minute of playing time. The future of the NBA had arrived in the same draft class. Then, something funny happened. Carmello got stuck in the mud. Sure, he averaged 26.5 points a game on 48% shooting in 2006, but he was no longer the face of tomorrow. He wasn?t given the media attention of Wade and James. He wasn?t even given an All-star nod.He?s hit 11 out of 17 game winning shots in his career, but nobody would call him more clutch than Kobe. He?s won a collegiate national championship, but people dwell on the fact that he hasn?t been out of the first round in the rough Western Conference. He?s been a solid and loyal member of the Denver community, but the media focuses on offcourt issues circling people loosely associated with Anthony. 'Melo went from crowd favorite to the forgotten star between James and Wade. The player with all the stats but none of the glory.But now it?s all about to change.Anthony has become the face of USA basketball. Not Wade, nor James. Not even coach K. The star of team USA is unquestionably Anthony. Wade and James may continue to get the highlights, but Anthony has become the go-to-guy on a team with several NBA go-to-guys. After Team USA?s win over Germany, Anthony leads the team in points per a game (19.6), three pointers (17), and minutes (155). He single-handedly pulled out a win against Italy with an awe-inspiring 35 points, helping team USA overcome a 12-points deficit by scoring 19 in the third quarter. In the only two competitive games Team USA has played (Italy and Germany), Anthony has led the way.Wade and James may be the superstars, Elton Brand may rule the inside, and Coach K may be the general, but Melo is unmistakably the best player for USA in the international game. He has the best low-post game and is physically overwhelming the international wing players. His size allows him to play minutes at the power forward position or dominate from the wing. His soft touch has given Team USA their most consistent outside shooter, surprising teams that try to zone him off.If Team USA wins the world championship in Japan, there will be plenty of pictures of Dwayne Wade saluting or Lebron James polishing off his gold medal. But Carmelo Anthony, the forgotten captain, has earned the right to be the face of Team USA, win or lose. Amazing article about Melo, Realgm with the hookup!
Great article, he has been forgotten. Wade and LeBron got off to faster starts in the NBA and him and unless he wins a championship those other two will always look better than him. He has caught up to them and will have a great season next year.
The only thing Carmelo does as well as Lebron and Wade is scoring. Hustle plays, rebounding, blocking shots, and passing Wade and Lebron are ahead of. They all need to work on their defense though which cost USA the World Championship.
I don't know why you put in bold but yes, everywhere i go now carmelo is top 2 clutch. If he didn't shoot 33% in the playoffs then i'd happily say he's atleast tied with kobe in that regard. But people will obviously say he choked even though the stats don't do justice to him When the best team's outside shooter is buckner, you're going to lose.edit: The rebounding is not that big. Carmelo is needed on the fast break, he isn't needed to rebound. This is why he's reboudning has lessened. In the clippers series he averaged 7 boards?Why? ask yourself on that one.edit: And carmelo was the best man to man defender out of the 2 during the world champs. I was watching him in one game, not counting the occasional gamble he kept his man infront of him. Wade's a gambler in the world champ's and in the nba, he's man to man defense is lacking. Lebron doesn't play defense. They all suck defensively.
This topic is dumb because their should not be a 'face' for Team USA. It should be made up of 'faces.' Hence the plural.
