Carmelo Anthony is participating in his fourth Olympics. He has a chance to win his third gold medal, which would be an Olympic basketball record. Some even say he is better suited for the international game than the NBA game. He is, in some sense, Mr. Olympic Basketball. He also says that winning a gold medal is as good as winning a championship ring.
Kyrie Irving, who just won an NBA title with the Cleveland Cavaliers, recently said that winning the NBA championship and winning a gold medal are “pretty much the same.” Melo was recently asked for his thoughts on that assessment by during a recent SportsCenter interview with Hannah Storm, and his response, believe it or not, was a simple, “I believe so.”
As ESPN’s Marc Stein writes, it “obviously behooves” Carmelo to make this assertion. Anthony has never won an NBA title, and it doesn’t seem likely to happen with the New York Knicks. Maybe someday he can pull a Karl Malone and try and chase a ring, but that didn’t workout for the Mailman, and it may not work for Melo, either.
Being able to call himself a three-time Olympic gold medalist, and equating those medals to NBA titles, would be a real boost to the ol’ resumé. Plus, by the end of this Olympics, he will be the highest scoring player in the history of the United States’ men’s Olympic basketball team. NBA title or not, Anthony’s basketball legacy, taking everything into consideration, will be impressive.
(Via ESPN.com)
