Paul George says Carmelo Anthony didn’t hold back
LA Clippers star Paul George has worked his way up to star status in the NBA, but had to go down a winding path to prove that he was deserving of that, one that included Portland Trail Blazers veteran Carmelo Anthony.
Two trade requests away from small-market teams and a career-defining injury behind him, he now looks to take the Clippers deep into the postseason with Kawhi Leonard when the NBA season resumes in late July.
Before all that, though, a now-member of the Portland Trail Blazers welcomed him to the league in his rookie season, exposing the fact that he still had a lot of work to do.
Paul George says Trail Blazers forward Carmelo Anthony came at him hard
Speaking to Quentin Richardson and Darius Miles on the Knuckleheads podcast, Paul George spoke about a number of topics including his inspiration taken from Kobe Bryant and his perspective of the trade request out of Indiana.
But before all of that, Quentin and Darius asked him who the first player was to “bust his a–” in the NBA.
George quickly recalled. It was Denver’s Carmelo Anthony.
"“It was Melo, man. It was Melo, my rookie year. Denver Melo. He went for like 30 or 40. Danny [Granger] got hurt that game. Danny had to sit out so he didn’t play, so I got all the minutes,” George said."
Going on, George talked about how real Carmelo’s bully ball game was with the Denver Nuggets.
"“And that was the real, like, welcome to the league moment right there was guarding Melo’s a—. He gave me everything, too. Bully ball. And that’s when he was at his finest with that bully ball. The New York years, you know what I mean? You could tell it was starting to take a toll on him. That was primetime Melo.”"
The two would go on to become teammates for a short time with the OKC Thunder.
For Blazers fans who might be too young to remember, Melo was a different creature in his Nuggets days. Of course, he’s still putting up quality minutes in Portland, but it can not be overstated how good young Carmelo was in Denver not far removed from his illustrious career at Syracuse University. He was nearly impossible to defend.
As a Nugget, Anthony averaged 24.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game, getting named to four All-Star games. While Anthony became a perennial All-Star as a member of the New York Knicks, Anthony’s career was birthed in Denver and really took off in the blue and yellow.
In his first year with the team, Anthony helped lead the Nuggets to their first playoff berth since 1995. They would go to the playoffs every year that Anthony was on the team, including peaking at the Western Conference Finals in 2009.
Now, Anthony plays a veteran ancillary role with the Blazers but figures to be a huge asset for the team, should he decide to play in the NBA’s bubble in Orlando, especially with Trevor Ariza opting to not play.