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Portland Trail Blazers: 3 NBA records the Blazers could to break in 2020-21

PORTLAND, OREGON - DECEMBER 23: Carmelo Anthony #00 of the Portland Trail Blazers warms up before the game against the Utah Jazz at Moda Center on December 23, 2020 in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
PORTLAND, OREGON - DECEMBER 23: Carmelo Anthony #00 of the Portland Trail Blazers warms up before the game against the Utah Jazz at Moda Center on December 23, 2020 in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
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Portland Trail Blazers
Carmelo Anthony, Portland Trail Blazers. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

No. 1: Carmelo Anthony’s rise to No. 9 on the all-time scoring list

Currently: 17th (26,499)
What’s needed: 910 points in next 68 games (13.3 points per game)

For a player who’s gone unwanted or has drawn as much criticism as he has over the last few years, Carmelo Anthony continues to find ways to stumble into history.

On Friday, put his catch-and-shoot brilliance on display, anchoring the Blazers’ second unit for 18 points. As you’ve likely heard, that performance helped him leapfrog Tim Duncan for No. 14 on the NBA’s all-time scoring list with 26,499 points.

Should health permit, Anthony should be poised to lasso a few other Hall of Famers by season’s end. Consider how close he is to a few of the NBA’s other celebrated legends:

— 169 points away from Dominique Wilkins (26,668)
— 211 points away from Oscar Robertson (26,710)
— 447 points away from Hakeem Olajuwon (26,946)
— 814 points away from Elvin Hayes (27,313)
— 910 points away from Moses Malone (27,409)

Four games into 2020-21, Anthony averages 13.3 points per game, which is ironic, because that’s what he needs to average over the final 68 games to surpass Moses Malone for No. 8 all-time.

And what a world it would be if a player like Anthony, the analytics public enemy No. 1, were recognized as one of the eight most prolific scorers in NBA history?

It’s been a renaissance sort of season for the 10-time All-Star. One has to look all the way back to 2015-16, an All-Star season in New York, to see Anthony get to the free throw line as often as he has this far. He’s averaging 5.3 charity stripe attempts per game — second-best among bench players — and his 59.9 true shooting percentage would be the highest of his career if it remains.