"Was supposed to be Melo not Bosh" - Stephen A. Smith adamant about Carmelo Anthony missing rings after snubbing Dwyane Wade and LeBron James' Heat
Carmelo Anthony may not have ended his career with a ring, but the way Stephen A. Smith sees things, he could've had multiple rings had things lined up the way they were supposed to.
Ahead of the 2010-11 season, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh joined forces in Miami, ushering in the Big Three era for the Heat as the trio vowed to win numerous championships together.
According to Stephen A. Smith, however, James and Wade were supposed to form a Big Three with fellow Banana Boat member Carmelo Anthony instead of Bosh. On the heels of Anthony reportedly being announced as a first-ballot Hall of Famer, Smith spoke on Thursday's edition of First Take to discuss his career.
When the topic of rings came up, Smith pointed out that if Anthony were in Miami alongside LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, the Heat wouldn't have lost to the Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 NBA Finals.
While referencing a report of his from the offseason prior to the 2010-11 season, when LeBron James announced that he was going to Miami, Smith stated:
"It was supposed to be Melo, not Bosh in Miami. ... I say it all the time. If Carmelo Anthony were in Miami instead of Chris Bosh. ... If Melo was there, they don't lose to Dallas. They don't lose to Dallas at all.
"And they gonna win the other two chips that they won too. Which means instead of zero, the brother would have had three titles. I believe that Carmelo Anthony would have won at least two, likely three chips if he had joined D. Wade and LeBron in Miami."
"I'm going to embrace this," - Carmelo Anthony opens up on upcoming Hall of Fame induction
While Carmelo Anthony and the other members of the 2025 class won't be officially inducted into the Hall of Fame until September, there's already plenty of excitement surrounding the NBA legend's induction.
Along with the likes of former Defensive Player of the Year Dwight Howard and arguably the WNBA GOAT, Diana Taurasi, Anthony will headline a star-studded class.
Back in January, when news broke that Anthony was being nominated for the Hall of Fame, the three-time Olympic gold medalist spoke about the situation on his "7 PM in Brooklyn Podcast" about the honor:
"For me, that's it. There's nothing else in basketball I can do. That's the pinnacle, that's the door. When you think about Hall of Famers who are already in there and the way they opened up the door for you, that's a special moment. I'm going to embrace this. I'm enjoying this."
The Hall of Fame celebrations will tip off on Sept. 5 in Connecticut with the awards gala. Then, the following night, the enshrinement ceremony will be held at the Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts.