"Different pride wearing USA across your chest": Carmelo Anthony takes firm stance on Olympic gold and NBA title
Long past his days of playing professional basketball, Carmelo Anthony is still regarded as one of the best to ever do it, especially when it comes to international competition. A three-time Olympic gold medalist, Anthony was asked if he would ever consider trading them for an NBA Championship. He responded with a firm "no" and explained his answer.
The Knicks legend started his Olympic career back in 2004 when Team USA fell short of capturing the gold and settled on bringing home the bronze medal. Anthony followed it up by winning three straight gold medals and solidified his impressive international career.
Carmelo Anthony's comments during an interview with BasketNews were shared on X, and reshared by user NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral).
"When we talk about global sport, for me, a medal means something totally different than an NBA Championship," Anthony said. "... but winning a gold medal, it's the passion, it's the pride that you have ... for a whole country you're winning for. So it's a different level of pride that you have to have when you're wearing USA across your chest ..."
Despite not winning a title in his 20 seasons in the NBA, Anthony argued that having gold medals on one's basketball resume has a different weight as opposed to winning a league championship.
Passion and pride are huge factors in his response, considering the challenge that comes along with playing at the Olympics and the responsibility involved in representing one's country on the international stage.
It's also a great accolade to win against other elite teams from different countries who challenge a player and team's skill set and capabilities on the court.
Carmelo Anthony explained why he didn't include Michael Jordan on his All-Time Team USA starting lineup
During the same BasketNews interview, Carmelo Anthony provided his all-time USA Basketball starting five which included himself, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Charles Barkley.
However, he didn't include Michael Jordan on his list and he explained why.
"[3:18] When you say overall, what he did with the 1992 team ... would never be done," Anthony said. "But the fact that he only played in one Olympics, I'm looking at guys who had a career in FIBA basketball. Even though Barkley played in two, and if I had to use the same rule for MJ, I would probably put Jason Kidd."
During Jordan's 1992 Olympic run, he averaged 14.9 points (45.1% shooting), 4.8 assists, and 2.4 rebounds per game. He was a key piece for the "Dream Team" in establishing the USA as the gold standard for international basketball. It also set the stage for future USA Basketball rosters to follow suit.
Charles Barkley, on the other hand, was no slouch either on the Olympic stage. In the two times he played for Team USA, he put up 15.4 points (74.4% shooting), 6.6 rebounds, and 2.4 assists.
For Anthony, one of the factors he considered in naming his all-time Team USA lineup was how many times a player contributed to the success and legacy of USA Basketball.