“I should have won that; everybody knows" - Carmelo Anthony claims he should have won Rookie of the Year in 2004
Carmelo Anthony's professional basketball career has come to an end. On Monday, the six-time All-NBA player announced his retirement, putting an end to any rumors regarding his potential return.
Throughout his remarkable career, Melo won numerous awards and accolades. He was a 10-time All-Star, a scoring leader, a three-time Olympic gold medal winner, and much more. However, the legendary forward regrets not winning the Rookie of the Year award.
Anthony believes that the prestigious rookie award, which was given to LeBron James, should have gone to him. Instead, he finished second in the voting, but he made an All-Rookie team.
Carmelo Anthony was part of the legendary 2003 NBA Draft class
Winning the Rookie of the Year award in the 2003-04 season was extremely tough. The draft class included many players who'd leave a long-lasting impact on the league, including LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade.
These three players were fantastic from the very start of their careers, finishing in the top 3 in the Rookie of the Year award voting. However, Anthony believes that he should have won the award.
"I should have won that; everybody knows," Anthony said about the prestigious award. "I thought we’d at least share it, since we both lived up to the expectations that first year. He had an incredible year, and in my case, we made the playoffs."
It's hard to disagree with the former Denver Nuggets rookie. He averaged 21.0 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game during his rookie season, leading the Nuggets to a 43-39 record.
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LeBron James, on the other hand, averaged 20.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game. He was a better all-around player, but his Cleveland Cavaliers finished the season with only 35 wins, missing the playoffs.
Carmelo Anthony's Nuggets were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Minnesota Timberwolves. However, if it wasn't for the rookie's impressive scoring numbers, they probably wouldn't have advanced to the postseason.
Despite dealing with knee issues, the 6-foot-7 forward appeared in four games of the playoffs, averaging 15.0 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.
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LeBron received 78 first-place votes for the Rookie of the Year award, finishing with a total of 508 points. Carmelo Anthony finished second with 430 points, including 40 first-place votes, while D-Wade finished third with 117 points.
Kirk Hinrich, Chris Bosh and Marquis Daniels also received votes for the award.