For the first time in what seems like a long time, Carmelo Anthony is having fun playing basketball. Anthony left the dysfunction of the New York Knicks behind him when he was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder this summer, joining forces with Russell Westbrook and Paul George to create another NBA superteam.
We’re only a few weeks into the 2017-18 NBA season, and while the Thunder aren’t playing incredible basketball just yet, they’ve figured out one very important piece to the NBA success puzzle; they all seem to like each. Good chemistry can take you a long way.
Beyond the basketball, though, Melo’s move out of New York gave NBA fans the chance to look at him in a different light. It was easy to forget how fun Melo can be when everything he does is under the disastrous Phil Jackson-era Knicks. He birthed the wildly successful Hoodie Melo look this summer, and with the overall positivity around his trade to the Thunder, he’s undergoing a bit of a career renaissance in terms of his perception around the league.
We were reminded about one of Melo’s fun on-court quirks in the 2017-18 NBA preseason when footage surfaced of Melo screaming some rendition of “get the f*ck out of here” during multiple rebound attempts. He was yelling “get the f*ck out of here” to his teammates, his opponents, the ball, and probably himself. Whatever Melo was doing, it made for a hilarious clip.
After practice on Monday, ESPN NBA writer Royce Young asked Anthony why he does that. Melo’s answer was kind of all over the place, but you’ll get the point.
Asked Melo today about his signature rebound, where he yells “Get the f— outta here!” when he hauls it in: pic.twitter.com/bxEl6Wx7EI
— Royce Young (@royceyoung) October 30, 2017
“I’ve been doing it for a long time,” Anthony said. “I think now, just coming with the whole mindset thing and wanting to focus on getting back on the rebounding tip and being aggressive on the glass. Just kind of motivating myself. It’s a mind game I kind of play with myself to go out and play and get some rebounds. … I love rebounding. Even though my numbers are down right now, I love rebounding the basketball. It’s fun. Playing with someone like Steven who loves to rebound, Russ who steals rebounds, it makes it fun to go out there and challenge myself to rebound the basketball.”
Ultimately, Melo chalked it up to a mind game he’s playing with himself to get him into the mindset of going out there and crashing the boards as hard as he can. Despite how silly that sentence reads, it makes some sense. Kevin Garnett used to hype himself up all the time, so Melo isn’t alone in that regard. His comment about Russ stealing rebounds (which was said with a smile and laugh) was pretty funny, too.
Young also asked Steven Adams what he thinks about Melo’s “get the f*ck out of here” habit. Adams said he knew Melo was yelling something, but until the question was posed, he had no idea that’s what he was actually saying and gave a perfectly Steven Adams response.
Steven Adams didn’t know exactly what Melo was saying on the rebounds. Here’s his reaction: pic.twitter.com/72otkLfpBs
— Royce Young (@royceyoung) October 30, 2017
“I’ll let him get it, he doesn’t have to say those harsh words,” Adams said. “He doesn’t have to talk like that. It’s a bit mean. I thought we were on good terms?”
You hear that, Melo? No need to yell and swear. If you want those rebounds, all you had to do was ask.
