Carmelo Anthony has never been one to follow the script—not in Denver, not in New York, and certainly not now. With his Hall of Fame induction looming this September, the Knicks icon is meticulously shaping the moment that will define his legacy. And yet, in the middle of this celebration, a choice he made, seemingly personal and heartfelt, has ignited a storm he likely didn’t anticipate. As the basketball world braces for his induction speech, it’s not what Carmelo said that’s making headlines. It’s who he left out.
As in every GOAT debate, LeBron’s name surfaced—this time over Melo’s omission over the people he wanted to induct him in. The huge moment for Melo in September will be that he will be going into the Hall twice, first as an individual for his historic career and second as part of the 2008 United States Olympic team, “The Redeem Team.” Naturally, for his individual induction, he would call in legends of the game.
“I was inspired by MJ. Not only from a basketball standpoint, inspired. As a Hall of Famer, seeing something in me as an 18-19-year-old kid saying one day he can be a Hall of Famer, that’s major. So I got to have him in me. Then you have AI, who impacted my whole professional career. We all know the impact that AI had on us. We can relate to that. Product of environments, still going out there doing what you got to do.” The Knicks legend made his first two choices clear in Michael Jordan and Allen Iverson.
His third choice was his best friend and the 2003 draft classmate, Dwyane Wade. “Then, also you got my brother, D-Wade, who’s in there. You better be right here. You know what I’m saying?” That’s a great lineup of shooting guards if one has ever seen. Melo continued, “I’m going to try to do all three. You only get in once. You can’t just be, oh, you’re only going to have one person. My life was impacted by more than one person, so now I need three.” But not having LeBron in this, ticked the fans off.
Is the outrage about Carmelo Anthony’s snub justified?
For the longest time, Melo has cited Michael Jordan as his “GOAT” and someone whom he modeled his game around. When it comes to AI, they were former teammates at the Nuggets. And Anthony also revealed once that it was only Iverson who truly understood him. Then there is Wade, whose career intertwined with Melo’s as they came into the league as young prospects and now have a HOF career. Similar to D-Wade’s reaction, a fan asked why not the rest of the Banana Boat Crew members, “No Bron or CP3?”
One even brought in the scenario where King James saved the Knicks icon’s life. During a 2012 yacht outing, Melo said LeBron dove in to rescue him from a strong current. “I see ‘Bron jumps off the boat like he’s MacGyver. He jumps off the boat into the water. He was bringing me back with one arm. He’s swimming with the other arm.” Yes, fans brought this one up. “Bron saved your life. You almost drowned, he should be there.”
But another one commented and clarified about the rules. “Can’t be someone who isn’t in the HOF that’s why no ‘bron.” Icons who are already part of the Hall of Fame induct the latest names as a sign of opening the gates of HOF. But the narrative from the fans of LeBron’s snub continued. “Wade no bron?…” The Syracuse legend was previously against any narrative of picking sides.
“You know, MJ is the GOAT. He’s the greatest ever. We all know that, and we all agree to that. Why can’t we say that, but also give LeBron his flowers while he’s here too?” Anthony explained that His Airness will be his GOAT, but that doesn’t mean his respect for LeBron James is any less. Yet, the netizens feel otherwise, “Melo don’t really fw bron , that’s crazy.” But there is no crazy conspiracy as to why Carmelo Anthony chose Wade, MJ, and AI as his top 3.
