Carmelo Anthony

Anthony's NBA career began on June 26, 2003, when he was chosen third overall in the 2003 NBA draft by the Denver Nuggets. He was selected behind LeBron James (first overall, Cleveland Cavaliers) and Darko Miličić (second overall, Detroit Pistons).[34] He made his NBA regular season debut on October 29, 2003, in an 80–72 home win against the San Antonio Spurs.[35] Anthony finished the night with 12 points, seven rebounds, and three assists. In just his sixth career NBA game (November 7 versus the Los Angeles Clippers), Anthony scored 30 points, becoming the second youngest player in NBA history to score 30 points or more in a game (19 years, 151 days; Kobe Bryant was the youngest).[36] It was the fewest games a Nuggets rookie took to score 30 points in a contest since the ABA–NBA merger. On February 9, 2004, against the Memphis Grizzlies, Anthony became the third-youngest player to reach the 1,000-point plateau in NBA history with a 20-point effort in an 86–83 win.[37]

Anthony receiving an alley-oop during the 2004 Rookie Challenge game for the Rookies team

On February 13, 2004, Anthony participated in the Got Milk? Rookie Challenge at All-Star Weekend.[38] On March 30, 2004, he scored 41 points against the Seattle SuperSonics to set a new Denver Nuggets franchise record for most points in a game by a rookie.[39] He also became the second-youngest player (19 years, 305 days) to score at least 40 points in a game in NBA history. After winning the Rookie of the Month award for the Western Conference in the month of April, Anthony became the fourth player in NBA history to capture all six of the Rookie of the Month awards in a season.[23] The others to do so were David Robinson, Tim Duncan and fellow rookie LeBron James.[33] Anthony was also named NBA Player of the Week twice (March 10, 2004 – March 14, 2004, and April 6, 2004 – April 10, 2004) and was a unanimous NBA All-Rookie First Team selection.[40] Anthony averaged 21.0 points per game during the season, which was more than any other rookie. Anthony was second in the NBA Rookie of the Year voting, finishing runner-up to the Cavaliers rookie standout, James.[41]

Anthony played a major part in the turnaround of the Denver Nuggets from league laughingstock to playoff contender. In the season before Anthony was drafted by the team, the Nuggets finished with a 17–65 record, which tied them for worst in the NBA with the Cleveland Cavaliers. They finished the 2003–04 campaign with a 43–39 overall record, qualifying them as the eighth seed for the playoffs. Anthony became the first NBA rookie to lead a playoff team in scoring since David Robinson of the San Antonio Spurs during the 1989–90 season.[23] In the 2004 NBA Playoffs, the Nuggets faced the top-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves in the First Round. In Anthony's first career playoff game, he had 19 points, six rebounds, and three assists, in a 106–92 loss at Minnesota.[42] The Timberwolves eliminated the Nuggets in five games.[43]

In Anthony's second season, he averaged 20.8 points per game, ranking him 19th in the NBA. Anthony placed 16th in the NBA for points per 48 minutes. On December 4, 2004, versus the Miami Heat, Anthony became the third-youngest player in NBA history to reach 2,000 career points.[44] Only James and Bryant were younger when they reached that plateau. Anthony played again in the Got Milk? Rookie Challenge, this time suiting up for the sophomore squad. In front of his home fans of Denver (who were hosting the 2005 All-Star Game), Anthony scored a game-high 31 points to go along with five boards, two assists and two steals, en route to becoming the MVP of the game.[45]

With Anthony's help, the Nuggets improved their season record by six games from the previous season, ending with a mark of 49–33. The Nuggets finished seventh place in the Western Conference (one spot higher than they finished the previous season). Denver faced the second-seeded San Antonio Spurs in the First Round, winning the first game in San Antonio, 93–87.[46] However, the eventual NBA champion Spurs won the next four games, eliminating the Nuggets from the playoffs.[47]

Anthony played and started in 80 games during the 2005–06 season. He averaged 26.5 points (eighth, NBA), 2.7 assists, 4.9 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game. His eighth-place finish in NBA scoring was the highest finish by a Denver player since the 1990–91 season, when Nuggets guard Michael Adams finished the season sixth in NBA scoring. On November 23, 2005, with the Nuggets facing the two-time defending Eastern Conference Champion Detroit Pistons, Anthony hauled down his 1,000th career rebound. A month later, Anthony recorded a then career-high 45 points in a losing effort against the Philadelphia 76ers. On March 17, 2006, versus the Memphis Grizzlies, he scored 33 points to push his career point total over the 5,000 mark.[48] Also, in doing so, he became the second youngest player to accomplish that feat (behind LeBron James). As the month of March came to a close, the Nuggets finished 11–5, and Anthony was named as the NBA Player of the Month for March. He also took home Player of the Week honors for March 13, 2006 – March 19, 2006.[49]

During the season, Anthony made five game-winning shots in the last five seconds: at Houston on January 8, 2006;[50] at home versus Phoenix on January 10;[51] at Minnesota on February 24;[52] at Indiana on March 15;[53] at home versus the Los Angeles Lakers on April 6.[54] All five of those game-winners were made on jump shots, while the shot against Minnesota was a three-point field goal. Anthony also made a shot in the final seconds to force overtime vs. the Dallas Mavericks on January 6.[55] He made shots in the final 22 seconds against the Cleveland Cavaliers on January 18, 2006,[56] and the Philadelphia 76ers on March 9, which gave the Nuggets leads they would never lose.[57] Anthony was named to the All-NBA Third Team.[58]

The Nuggets finished the season in third place, winning the Northwest Division for the first time in Anthony's career. Denver faced the sixth-seeded Los Angeles Clippers in the First Round of the playoffs. The Clippers held home court advantage in the series, due to ending the regular season with a better record (Denver finished 44–38; Los Angeles finished 47–35). The Clippers won the first two games of the series on their home floor.[59] The Nuggets split their games at home in Denver (winning game three; losing game four).[60] Denver then lost game five at Los Angeles, which eliminated the Nuggets from the playoffs.[61] After the season, Anthony signed a 5-year, $80 million extension with the Nuggets.[62]

Anthony in 2007

Coincidentally, Alex English witnessed Anthony tie his record as English was an Assistant Coach at the time with the Toronto Raptors.[63][64] After the Chicago victory, Anthony again tied the club record of six-straight 30-point games, failing to break it the second time around, as he scored 24 points in his 16th game (a 98–96 home loss to the Atlanta Hawks) on December 6.[65] During a game at Madison Square Garden on December 16, Anthony was one of many players involved in the infamous Knicks–Nuggets brawl.[66] Footage showed Anthony laying a punch on the face of New York's Mardy Collins and subsequently backing away. As a result of his actions, Anthony was suspended for 15 games by NBA commissioner David Stern.[67] Shortly thereafter, the Nuggets traded for Allen Iverson. The duo did not get to play alongside one another until a home game against the Memphis Grizzlies on January 22, which was the day Anthony was allowed to return from his 15-game suspension.[68] Anthony finished the game with 28 points, as he and Iverson combined for 51 points.[69]

On February 2, 2007, Anthony and teammate J. R. Smith were involved in a minor car accident.[70] Neither player was injured in the collision. The only information released by the team was that the car Smith was driving belonged to Anthony. Three days later, Anthony recorded his first career triple-double, with 31 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, in a 113–108 loss to the Phoenix Suns.[71] When the reserves for the Western Conference All-Star team were announced, Anthony was not included on the roster.[72] However, with Yao Ming and Carlos Boozer out with injuries, NBA commissioner David Stern chose Anthony as a replacement (along with Josh Howard).[73] Anthony scored 20 points with nine rebounds in his All-Star debut.[74] Anthony was the first Denver Nugget to be named an All-Star since Antonio McDyess in 2001.[75]

Anthony won Player of the Week honors three times during the season (November 20–26; November 27 – December 3; and February 5–11),[76][77] and received Player of the Month honors for April. Anthony finished the season as the league's second leading scorer behind Bryant, with an average of 28.9 points,[78] while adding 6.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He was named to All-NBA Third Team for the second straight year.

On January 24, 2008, Anthony was named to his second consecutive NBA All-Star Game—his first as a starter.[79] He finished as the leading vote-getter among Western Conference forwards (1,723,701 votes) and second in overall voting to Kobe Bryant (2,004,940 votes) among all Western Conference players.[79] On February 8, Anthony scored a then career-high 49 points in a 111–100 home win over the Washington Wizards.[80] He had a field goal percentage of .760 on a 19-of-25 shooting effort, and his shooting percentage was the second highest in the last 13 years for a player who took 25 or more shots in a game (Bryant was first with a .769 field goal percentage on a 20-of-26 shooting effort, in a 99–94 road victory over the Houston Rockets on December 21, 2000).[80][81] On March 27, in a home win over the Dallas Mavericks, Anthony scored his 9,000th career point.[82] He played in 77 games during the regular season, finishing as the NBA's fourth-leading scorer with 25.7 points per game, and had career-highs in rebounds per game (7.4) and steals per game (1.3). He tied his career-high in blocks per game (0.5), and ended the season with 3.4 assists per game, which was the second-best mark of his career.

The Nuggets finished the 2007–08 season with exactly 50 wins (50–32 overall record, tied for the third-best all-time Nuggets record since the team officially joined the NBA in 1976), following a 120–111 home victory over the Memphis Grizzlies in the last game of the season.[83] It was the first time since the 1987–88 NBA season that the Nuggets finished with at least 50 wins in a season.[83] Denver ended up as the eighth seed in the Western Conference of the 2008 Playoffs, and their 50 wins marked the highest win total for an eighth seed in NBA history.[83] It also meant that for the first time in NBA history, all eight playoff seeds in a conference had at least 50 wins. The Nuggets faced the top-seeded Los Angeles Lakers (57–25 overall record) in the First Round of the Playoffs. The seven games separating the Nuggets overall record and the Lakers overall record is the closest margin between an eighth seed and a top seed since the NBA went to a 16-team playoff format in 1983–84.[83] The Lakers swept the Nuggets in four games, marking the second time in NBA history that a 50-win team was swept in a best-of-seven playoff series in the First Round.[84][85] For the series, Anthony averaged 22.5 points, 9.5 rebounds (playoff career-high), 2.0 assists and 0.5 steals per game.

The 2008–09 campaign began with Allen Iverson being traded to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for guard Chauncey Billups.[86] On December 10, 2008, in a 116–105 home win over the Timberwolves, Anthony tied George Gervin for the most points scored in one quarter in NBA history by scoring 33 points in the third quarter.[87] Gervin had set the record when he was competing against David Thompson for the scoring title on the last day of the 1977–78 season. Anthony shot 12 of 15 (80%) in the third quarter and finished the game with 45 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, and four steals. The record was broken in January 2015 by Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors.[88] On January 4, 2009, Anthony broke a bone in his hand in a game against the Indiana Pacers. He opted to have the hand splinted rather than have surgery; his recovery time was estimated at three to four weeks. He had already missed three games in late December with a sore elbow. Anthony returned from injury and to the Nuggets starting lineup on January 30, 2009, in a game against the Charlotte Bobcats in which he scored 19 points.[89] Anthony was suspended for one game by the Nuggets for staying on the court and refusing to leave the game after coach George Karl benched him during a game against the Pacers.[90]

The Nuggets won the Northwest Division and placed second in the Western Conference, finishing the season with a franchise record-tying 54 wins (54–28 overall). Anthony averaged 22.8 points per game and made a career-high 37.1% of his shots from three-point range. After losing in five straight playoff appearances (2004–2008), on April 29, 2009, Anthony won his first playoff series when the Nuggets beat the New Orleans Hornets at home 107–86 where Anthony finished with a playoff career-high 34 points and four steals. In a post-game conference, Anthony said "Yeah, finally... Took me 5 years to get that gorilla off my back, it's a great feeling." The Nuggets beat the Hornets in five games in the First Round of the playoffs and proceeded to beat the Dallas Mavericks 4–1 in the Conference Semifinals with Anthony scoring 30 points in a solid game five performance. In the third game of the semifinals, Anthony made a last second three-point shot to give the Nuggets the win after being down by two points (103–105). Denver advanced to the Conference Finals for the first time since 1985 but was eliminated, 4–2, by the eventual NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers on his birthday.

Anthony was named to the All-NBA Third Team for the third time in his career.[91]

Anthony during his tenure with the Nuggets

In the opening two games of the 2009–10 season, Anthony totaled 71 points, scoring 30 points in the home opener and 41 the next night, in wins against division rivals Utah Jazz and Portland Trail Blazers respectively.[92] Anthony became one of three players in the Nuggets' history to open with 70 or more points through two games—tied with Nick Van Exel with 71 points—surpassed only by Alex English who did it twice, in 1985 (79) and 1988 (74).[93] It was also only the second time since 1987 that the Nuggets started the season 2–0.[93] In their third game, Anthony scored 42 points.[94][95] It was the first time they went 3–0 since 1985.[95] In the month of November, Anthony was named the NBA player of the week and Western Conference Player of the Month, leading the Nuggets to a 12–5 start.[96][97]

In the fifteenth regular season game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Anthony entered the game leading the league in points per game (30.2) and was the only player in the league to score at least 20 points in every game.[98] He finished the game with 22 points which was his fifteenth consecutive game with at least 20 points breaking the previous franchise record of 14 straight set by English.[99] The following game, Anthony scored a career-high 50 points in a home game against the New York Knicks while teammate Chauncey Billups added 32 points in the game, making them only the third duo in NBA history to score at least 50 and 30 points respectively.[100] Two days later, Anthony scored a total of 32 points.[101] On January 21, 2010, Anthony was named as a starter for the 2010 NBA All-Star Game leading the Western Conference ballots in votes for forwards.[102] This was Anthony's third All-Star appearance and second as a starter. He finished the game with a team-high 27 points and 10 rebounds.[103]

In the team's first game after the All-Star Game, the Nuggets visited the Cleveland Cavaliers in a highly anticipated game with the Cavaliers having a 13-game winning streak. While LeBron James posted a triple-double of 43 points, 13 rebounds and 15 assists, Anthony compiled 40 points, six rebounds and seven assists in an overtime win as Anthony nailed a jumper over the outstretched arms of James with just 1.9 seconds left in the game, ending the Cavaliers' win streak.[104][105] On March 26, 2010, Anthony made a game-winning shot at the buzzer, after missing his first attempt, against the Toronto Raptors.[106] The Nuggets concluded the 2009–10 regular season with a 53–29 record and the Northwest Division title for the second straight season facing the Utah Jazz in the First Round.[107] In Game 1, Anthony scored a playoff-career-high 42 points.[108][109] This also matched a franchise-playoff high for scoring in a single playoff game, tied with Alex English.

Anthony was named to the All-NBA Second Team for the first time in his career.[91]

The 2010–11 season began with speculation that Anthony had requested a trade. Anthony refused to sign a proposed contract extension. Sources reported that Anthony's preferred destination was the New York Knicks, with other teams such as the New Jersey Nets, Houston Rockets and Atlanta Hawks said to be interested.[110] Anthony's trade request was not initially fulfilled, and he began the season on the Nuggets' roster. On November 15, 2010, Anthony had 20 points and a career-high 22 rebounds for the first 20–20 game of his career against the Phoenix Suns.[111] He also hit game-winning jumper at the buzzer against the Bulls on November 26, 2010.[112]

On February 22, 2011, Anthony, along with point guard Chauncey Billups, was traded to the New York Knicks in a multi-player deal also involving the Minnesota Timberwolves.[113][114] Anthony chose to wear number 7 with the Knicks, as his former number 15 was retired by the Knicks in honor of Earl Monroe and Dick McGuire. Anthony's first game with the Knicks was a 114–108 win against the Milwaukee Bucks in which he scored 27 points and had 10 rebounds and an assist. After Anthony's acquisition, the Knicks qualified for the playoffs as the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference and were matched up against the Boston Celtics. During the series, the Knicks struggled with injuries as Amar'e Stoudemire and Billups went down. In game two of the NBA playoffs in Boston, Anthony tied a playoff career high with 42 points and also had 17 rebounds and six assists in a Knicks loss. The Knicks fell to the Boston Celtics in four games in the First Round of the playoffs.[115]

Anthony in March 2013

The 2011–12 season brought new expectations, as the season would be Anthony's first full season as a Knick. The Knicks struggled throughout the season, as injuries derailed the team. Anthony himself missed 11 games; during this stretch, the Knicks inserted Jeremy Lin as the team's starting point guard. This led to a historic stretch of games by Lin, and a period of basketball hysteria known as Linsanity.[116] However, the team found themselves with an 18–24 record, leading to the resignation of coach Mike D'Antoni. Anthony was assumed to have a role in the coach's departure, as he was not a good fit in D'Antoni's high paced offense.[117] Mike Woodson took over for D'Antoni; this led to an improvement in Anthony's play, as he was more suited for Woodson's halfcourt offense. On Easter Sunday, Anthony had arguably his best game in a Knicks uniform as he scored 43 points and hit two clutch three-pointers in a victory over Chicago.[118] Under Woodson, the Knicks finished the season at 18–6, a vast improvement from the 18–24 record they had under D'Antoni.[119]

The Knicks qualified for the playoffs as the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference, and faced off against the eventual champions, the Miami Heat. During the series, the Knicks were hampered by injuries as they were a season before. Tyson Chandler was diagnosed with the flu for game 1, Iman Shumpert tore his ACL, Baron Davis tore his patella tendon, and All-Star Amar'e Stoudemire sustained a laceration on his hand after punching a fire extinguisher out of anger after a loss. In addition, Jeremy Lin had torn his left meniscus before the playoffs started. Despite the injuries, Anthony was able to lead the Knicks to their first playoff win since 2001. In the game, Anthony scored 41 points. The Knicks were eventually eliminated in five games, 4–1. Anthony was voted to the All-NBA Third Team for the fourth time in his career alongside teammate Tyson Chandler.[91]

On December 3, 2012, Anthony was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the period November 26 to December 2, 2012.[120] On January 7, 2013, Anthony received his second Player of the Week citation for games played from December 31, 2012, to January 6, 2013. During that time, he led the team to a 2–1 record, tallying a league-best 36.0 points per game. The week was highlighted by a pair of 40-point games, first in a loss to Portland (45 points, seven rebounds, four assists) on January 1, and then in a victory over Orlando (40 points, six rebounds and six assists) on January 5.[121] On January 9, 2013, Anthony was suspended for one game without pay for confronting Kevin Garnett after a game on January 7.[122] On January 30, 2013, in a game against the Orlando Magic, Anthony set the Knicks' team-record with 30 straight 20-point games, breaking the old record set by Richie Guerin (29 games).[123] Anthony later extended the record to 31 games after he scored 25 points in a 96–86 victory against the Milwaukee Bucks.[124]

Anthony dunking in 2013

On March 29, 2013, Anthony recorded 32 points and 11 rebounds in a 111–102 victoryt over the Charlotte Bobcats. His teammate J. R. Smith scored 37 points in the game.[125] On March 31, 2013, Anthony scored 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a win against the Boston Celtics as he recorded a double-double in consecutive games. With the victory, the Knicks won the season series against the Celtics (3–1) for the first time since the 2003–04 season.[126] On April 2, 2013, Anthony tied his career high by scoring 50 points in a 102–90 win over the Miami Heat and became the first player in NBA history to record 50+ points with no baskets in the paint.[127] He followed the next night with 40 points in a 95–82 victory over the Atlanta Hawks,[128] and then 41 points against the Milwaukee Bucks two days later, becoming the first Knicks player since Bernard King to score 40+ points in three consecutive games.[129] He also became only the third NBA player to score at least 40 points on at least 60% field-goal shooting in three consecutive games, joining King and Michael Jordan.[130] On April 7, 2013, Anthony scored 36 points and 12 rebounds, nine offensive, as the Knicks tallied their 12th straight win in a 125–120 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder. By scoring 36 points to Kevin Durant's 27 points, he overtook the latter in the scoring race, upping his season average to 28.44 to Durant's 28.35 points per game.[131]

On April 8, 2013, Anthony was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the period April 1–7, 2013. He led the Knicks to a 4–0 record as part of their 12-game winning streak, during which he averaged 41.8 points per game.[132][133] No NBA player had scored at least 35 points in five straight games since Kobe Bryant in the 2006–07 season.[134] In 2013, Anthony became the first Knicks player with the highest-selling jersey in the NBA, based on sales at the NBA Store and NBAstore.com, since the league started tracking jersey sales in 2001.[135]

On April 11, 2013, the Knicks' 13-game winning streak ended with a loss to the Bulls, 118–111. Despite the loss, Anthony scored 36 points on top of a season-high 19 rebounds, and he set a franchise record with six straight games with at least 35 points.[136][137] On April 15, 2013, Anthony won his second straight Eastern Conference Player of the Week award for games played from April 8 to 15, 2013, when he led the team to a 3–1 record. For the week, he averaged a conference-best 32.0 points and a seventh-best 11.5 rebounds per game.[138] He became the 2013 NBA scoring champion with 28.7 points per game after second place scorer and three-time reigning scoring champion Kevin Durant decided to sit out his last regular season game against the Milwaukee Bucks, ending his season with an average of 28.1 points per game.[139] At the close of the regular season, Anthony was named as the Eastern Conference Player of the Month for April. Anthony broke LeBron James' stranglehold on the monthly award after James had received such honors five times that season.[140]

In the 2013 NBA Playoffs, Anthony scored 21 points to go with seven rebounds, five assists, two steals and one block against the Boston Celtics, in their First Round playoff series. It was the Knicks' first playoff series win since 2000.[141] Anthony averaged a team-high 29.2 points per game in the series. This was the second highest playoff series average of a Knick player against the Celtics, behind Ewing's 31.6 during their 1989–90 First Round series.[142][143] In the next round, the Knicks were defeated by the Indiana Pacers in six games. On May 23, 2013, Anthony was named to the All-NBA Second Team. It was the second time in Anthony's career that he made the Second Team.[144]

Anthony in 2013

Early in the 2013–14 NBA season, the Knicks suffered a nine-game losing streak, as the team opened with a 3–13 record. Despite the losing record, Anthony continued to play well under the circumstances, averaging 26.3 points, 9.9 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game, nine double-doubles including four straight: against Indiana (30 points and 18 rebounds), Washington (23 and 12), Portland (34 and 15) and LA Clippers (27 and 10).[145]

However, at the start of 2014, the Knicks went 4–1, including big wins against previous season finalists Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs.[146] In the victory against the Heat, Anthony and James ended up in a virtual deadlock as the former registered 29 points (shooting 12-of-24), eight rebounds, five assists and two steals as against the latter's 32 points (shooting 12-of-17), five rebounds, six assists, one steal and one block.

On January 24, he established his career high, the Knicks' franchise record, and the Madison Square Garden record for single-game scoring with a 62-point, 13-rebound, 0 turnover effort against the Charlotte Bobcats.[147] On January 30, in a 117–86 victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Anthony became the 50th NBA player to score 19,000 career points.[148] Anthony became the fifth-youngest NBA player to achieve the feat.[149] Anthony was named Eastern Conference Player of the Month for January after leading the conference in scoring with 28.7 points per game while also averaging nine rebounds per contest.[150]

On February 16, 2014, Anthony played in his seventh All-Star Game as a starter for the East All-Stars.[151]

On March 10, 2014, Anthony won his second Eastern Conference Player of the Week citation for games played March 3–9, after he averaged 29.0 points per game, while the Knicks went 3–1.[152]

For the 2013–14 season, Anthony averaged 27.4 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 3.1 assists in a league-leading 38.7 minutes per game, but would miss the NBA playoffs for the first time in his career.

On June 23, 2014, Anthony informed the Knicks that he would opt out of his contract and become a free agent.[153] On July 13, 2014, Anthony re-signed with the Knicks[154] to a reported five-year deal.[155]

Kristaps Porziņģis and Anthony

In just the team's third game in the season, Anthony became the 40th member of the 20,000 points club, when he hit a three-pointer early in the first quarter of a 96–93 victory over the Charlotte Hornets. He eventually finished with 28 points, hiking his total to 20,025 career points.[156] In the process, he became the 10th active player to achieve the milestone[157] and the sixth youngest in NBA history to reach the milestone[158] just behind LeBron James (28 years, 17 days), Kobe Bryant (29 years, 122 days), Wilt Chamberlain (29 years, 134 days), Michael Jordan (29 years, 326 days) and Oscar Robertson (30 years, 97 days).[159]

On January 22, 2015, Anthony was named as a starter in the 2015 NBA All-Star Game, his seventh consecutive start and eight overall alongside LeBron James, Pau Gasol, Kyle Lowry and John Wall.[160] After competing in the All-Star game and scoring 10 points, Anthony was ruled out for the rest of the season on February 18, after undergoing left knee surgery.[161] Anthony only played 40 games for the season ending with season averages of 24.2 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 3.1 apg and 1.0 spg.[162]

On January 20, 2016, in the Knicks' 118–111 overtime win against the Jazz, Anthony recorded 30 points, seven rebounds and nine assists, while passing Larry Bird for 31st place in career points scored.[163][164] On January 21, Anthony was voted as starter for the 2016 NBA All-Star Game.[165] In the All-Star game Anthony recorded 11 points, 6 rebounds and 1 block in the East's 196–173 loss to the West.[166] On January 23, Anthony moved past Gary Payton as the league's 30th all-time career scoring leader in a 97–84 loss to the Charlotte Hornets.[167] In the team's 128–97 victory against the Phoenix Suns on March 9, 2016, Anthony scored 23 points with 7 rebounds as he passed another NBA legend, Clyde Drexler, in the career scoring list moving up to No. 29.[168]

While Anthony ended the season with an average of 21.8 ppg (1,573 points in 72 games), below his 25.2 ppg average entering the season, he set a career-high 4.2 apg average (299 assists in 72 games),[169] the first and only time that he averaged over 4.0 apg in his career.[170]

On December 9, 2016, in a game against the Sacramento Kings, Anthony became the fifth active player to eclipse the 23,000 point mark. He also became the 29th player in NBA history to hit the scoring milestone.[171] On December 25, 2016, in a Christmas Day game against the Boston Celtics, Anthony moved past Elgin Baylor into 28th place on the NBA career scoring list when he scored 29 points upping his total to 23,156 compared to Baylor's 23,149.[172]

Anthony with the Knicks in 2017

In a January 11, 2017, game against the Philadelphia 76ers, which the team lost 98–97 on a buzzer-beater, Anthony scored 28 points to move past Robert Parish into 26th place in the NBA career scoring ladder.[173] On January 19, 2017, Anthony scored a Knicks-record 25 points in the second quarter, breaking the old record of 24 points shared by Hall of Famer Willis Reed and Allan Houston. Reed scored his 24 points also in the second quarter, while Houston's 24 points came in the fourth quarter.[174]

On January 29, 2017, Anthony scored a season-high 45 points, his first 40-point game of the season, in a quadruple-overtime 142–139 loss to the Atlanta Hawks won. He added six rebounds, four assists and a block.[175]

In the February 12, 2017, game against the San Antonio Spurs, where the team eked out a 94–90 victory that salvaged the finale of their five-game homestand, Anthony scored a game-high 25 points to move past Charles Barkley into 25th position in the NBA career scoring list. He also had the fifth-most points among active players after Nowitzki, James, Pierce, and Carter, who was No. 24 in the scoring list.[176] It was the 12th time Anthony has scored at least 17 points in his last 13 games that included his season-high of 45 points in a quadruple-OT loss to the Atlanta Hawks.[177] On February 15, 2017, he was announced as the replacement for Kevin Love on the 2017 NBA All-Star Game, thus gaining his tenth All-Star appearance.[178] Anthony played 19 minutes, scored 10 points on a 4-of-8 shooting including 2–6 on three-pointers and grabbed three rebounds in the All-Star Game.[179]

On March 12, 2017, in a 120–112 loss to Knicks cross-town rivals Brooklyn Nets, Anthony became only the third player to score 10,000 points for two franchises, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Milwaukee Bucks and L.A. Lakers) and Elvin Hayes (San Diego/Houston Rockets and Baltimore/Capital/Washington Bullets).[180] He began his career with the Denver Nuggets, where he scored a total of 13,970 points in 564 games.[181] Two days later, on March 14, in an 87–81 victory over the Indiana Pacers, ending a three-game losing streak, Anthony surpassed the 24,000 career point mark by scoring 22 points with 13 rebounds.[182]

During the 2017 off-season, after multiple conflicts with the then-team president Phil Jackson, Anthony demanded a trade. Originally, the only team for which Anthony was willing to waive his no-trade clause was the Houston Rockets. However, Anthony expanded his list of teams to include the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Oklahoma City Thunder.[183]

On September 25, 2017, Anthony was traded to the Thunder in exchange for future teammate Enes Kanter, Doug McDermott and a 2018 second-round pick.[184] During Anthony's seven seasons with the Knicks, the team won one playoff series.[185]

On November 9, 2017, with only 12 points needed to move up in the rankings, Anthony passed Allen Iverson on the NBA all-time scoring list and moved to the 24th spot. He finished the game with 28 points.[186] On November 26, 2017, Anthony passed Ray Allen on the NBA all-time scoring list and moved to 23rd place.[187] On December 11, 2017, Anthony passed Vince Carter for 22nd on the NBA all-time scoring list.[188]

On January 27, 2018, Anthony became the 21st NBA player to score 25,000 career points.[189] In addition, he has 1,693 playoff points.[190] On March 19, 2018, in a 132–125 victory over the Toronto Raptors, Anthony scored 15 points to up his career total to 25,289, thereby moving past Reggie Miller into 19th place in the NBA career scoring ladder.[191]

On July 25, 2018, the Thunder traded Anthony to the Atlanta Hawks in a three-team trade in which they acquired Dennis Schröder from the Hawks and Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot from the Philadelphia 76ers.[192] The trade was widely seen as a cost-cutting move, as it saved the Thunder tens of millions of dollars in luxury tax payments.[193] On July 30, Anthony accepted a contract buyout from the Hawks, and was subsequently placed on waivers.[194][195]

On August 13, 2018, Anthony signed a one-year, $2.4 million veterans minimum contract with the Houston Rockets coached by his former Knicks coach, Mike D'Antoni.[196][197][198] On November 15, Rockets general manager Daryl Morey announced that the team was "parting ways" with Anthony, but had not released him. He played ten games for Houston, starting twice, but he was held out of the last three for what the club called an unspecified "illness."[198] During that absence, much of his playing time went to rookie Gary Clark.[199] Houston had started the season losing seven of their first 11 games. Morey said that Anthony "accepted every role" asked by D'Antoni, but that the "fit we envisioned when Carmelo chose to sign with the Rockets has not materialized; therefore we thought it was best to move on as any other outcome would have been unfair to him." D'Antoni stated that he "didn't ever want to disrespect [Anthony] and his career. He's going in the Hall of Fame."[198]

On January 22, 2019, the Rockets traded Anthony, the draft rights to Jon Diebler, and undisclosed cash considerations to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for the draft rights to Tadija Dragićević.[200] This trade allowed the Rockets to alleviate luxury-tax penalties up to $2.6 million.[201] On February 1, he was waived by the Bulls.[202]

On November 19, 2019, Anthony was signed by the Portland Trail Blazers to a one-year, non-guaranteed deal.[203][204] With his last NBA game having been on November 8, 2018,[205] Anthony made his debut as a Blazer in a 115–104 road loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on November 19; he started and had 10 points to go along with 4 rebounds and 1 block in 24 minutes of play.[206] On November 25, Anthony scored a season-high 25 points along with 8 rebounds in a 117–94 road victory over the Chicago Bulls.[207] In the same game, Anthony moved past Alex English into 18th spot on the NBA's all-time scoring list.[208] A couple of days later Anthony was named Western Conference Player of the Week,[209] in the process becoming the oldest player at 35 years old to win the weekly award since Tim Duncan at 38 won it in 2014–15. On December 6, Anthony's contract became fully guaranteed.[210]

On January 1, 2020, Anthony bested his season-high by scoring 26 points in a 117–93 loss to the New York Knicks.[211] On January 7, Anthony recorded a new season-high 28 points and seven rebounds, and hit the game-winning shot in a 101–99 win over the Toronto Raptors.[212] It was Anthony's 26th game winner in the last 30 seconds of a game, better than Kobe Bryant with 22, LeBron James with 20, Dirk Nowitzki with 18 and Dwyane Wade with 16. It was also the 17th time that Anthony has hit a game winner in the last 5 seconds of a game.[213]

On January 15, Anthony recorded his third double-double of the season with 18 points and a season-high 12 rebounds in Portland's 117–107 victory over the Rockets.[214] On January 17, Anthony scored 22 points in a 120–112 loss to the Dallas Mavericks, while becoming the 18th player in NBA history to reach the 26,000 points mark.[215] Anthony scored six points in the Trail Blazers' 125–112 win against the Rockets on January 29, and passed Kevin Garnett for 17th place in the NBA's all-time scoring list with a total of 26,073 points.[216][217] On February 23, Anthony scored a season-high 32 points in a 107–104 victory against the Detroit Pistons. This was the first time that Anthony scored over 30 points since February 25, 2017, when he was playing for the New York Knicks.[218]

On August 1, 2020, in the team's 1st game in the NBA restart against the Memphis Grizzlies, Anthony scored 21 points.[219] Anthony ultimately tied Chamberlain for No. 8 all-time with 771 career 20-point games when he scored 21, 20, and 26 points against the Los Angeles Clippers, Philadelphia 76ers and Dallas Mavericks in their 5th, 6th and 7th games in the NBA restart.[220]

In the team's sixth game in the NBA restart against the Philadelphia 76ers on August 10, 2020, Anthony scored 20 points with 7 rebounds, 2 steals and a block as he passed Boston Celtics legends John Havlicek for 16th place and ultimately Paul Pierce for 15th in the NBA career scoring ladder with a then-total of 26,411 points.[221] On August 13, 2020, just before the team's last game in the NBA restart against the Brooklyn Nets, Anthony was named the recipient of the 2019–20 Maurice Lucas Award.[222][223][224] Anthony finished the first round playoff series with averages of 15.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.0 steals and 0.4 blocks in five games.[225]

In November 2020, Anthony re-signed with the Trail Blazers on a one-year contract.[226][227] On January 1, 2021, in the first game of Portland's back-to-back game with the Golden State Warriors, Anthony scored a then season-high 18 points to move past Tim Duncan into 14th place on the NBA career scoring list.[228] On February 2, Anthony scored 21 points in a game against the Washington Wizards and moved past Dominique Wilkins into 13th place on the NBA all-time scoring list.[229] On February 9, Anthony scored 23 points against the Orlando Magic and moved past Oscar Robertson into 12th place on the NBA all-time career scoring list.[230] On February 11, Anthony scored a then season-high 24 points in the 118–114 win against the Philadelphia 76ers.[231] On March 1, Anthony scored a season-high 29 points in a win against the Charlotte Hornets.[232] On March 13, Anthony scored 26 points to move past Hakeem Olajuwon into 11th place on the NBA career scoring list in a win against the Minnesota Timberwolves.[233] On March 19, Anthony scored 18 points off the bench in a victory over Dallas Mavericks and became 11th NBA player to score over 27,000 points.[234][235] On May 3, Anthony scored 14 points in the 123–114 loss to the Atlanta Hawks and moved past Elvin Hayes into the 10th place on the NBA all-time career scoring list.[236] After the 2020–21 season, Anthony received the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion Award.[237]

On August 6, 2021, Anthony signed with the Los Angeles Lakers.[238] On October 19, he made his Lakers debut, putting up nine points, four rebounds, and two assists in a 121–114 loss to the Golden State Warriors.[239] On October 24, Anthony put up 28 points in a 121–118 win over the Memphis Grizzlies and moved past Moses Malone into the 9th place on the NBA all-time career scoring list.[240] On January 28, 2022, he scored 19 points in a 117–114 loss to the Charlotte Hornets to become the 9th player in NBA history to reach 28,000 points.[241] In a disappointing season due to injuries and inconsistency, the Lakers finished with a 33–49 record (11th), and Anthony averaged 13.3 points per game with 37.5 percent three-point shooting in 69 appearances.[242]