Carmelo Anthony Retires from the NBA

Melo is a 100% sure-fire, first-ballot lock for the Hall of Fame.

I planned on diving deeper into our offseason debates today, but early Monday morning, Carmelo Anthony announced his retirement from the NBA.

Here's the link to his goodbye message.

So, we'll get back to hypothetical trades and free-agent signings soon enough, but first, a few words about 'Melo.

It's essential to start here: Carmelo Anthony is a 100% sure-fire, first-ballot lock for the Hall of Fame. 

His NBA credentials are more than enough: six All-NBA teams, a 10x All-Star, and one scoring title (every other player to win a scoring title that was eligible has been inducted into the Hall). In addition, Melo also won a national championship as a freshman at Syracuse and multiple Olympic Gold Medals. 

Anthony was born in the Red Hook housing projects in Brooklyn before moving to Baltimore at the age of eight. He would go on to establish himself as one of the country's best high school prospects at the famed Oak Hill Academy. 

Melo took the Big East by storm in 2002–03, averaging a team-high 22.2 points and 10.0 rebounds. He would cap off his lone season at Syracuse by leading the Orangemen to their first-ever NCAA championship. He poured in 33 points against the University of Texas in the Final Four, setting an NCAA tournament record for most points by a freshman. After cutting down the nets, he was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. His #15 was later retired by the university. 

After LeBron James went first and the Pistons infamously decided to draft Darko Milicic second overall, the Nuggets scooped up Anthony with the third overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft. Denver had won just 17 games the year before Melo arrived but posted an impressive 43-39 record during Melo's debut campaign, as Anthony averaged 21.0 points and 6.1 rebounds. He became the first NBA rookie to lead a playoff team in scoring since San Antonio's David Robinson did so in 1989–90.

Melo would establish himself as one of the league's truly elite scorers over his first six seasons in Denver. He was never a good defender (which complicates his overall legacy and place in the NBA hierarchy), but my goodness, he could get buckets.

In 2006-07, at just 22 years of age, Anthony averaged 28.9 points to go along with 6.0 boards and 3.8 assists and was named to All-NBA Third Team for the second time. Two years later, he led the Nuggets to a franchise record-tying 54 wins and the Northwest Division crown. That Denver team would advance all the way to the Western Conference Finals, beating the New Orleans Hornets in the first round and then stomping the Mavericks 4-1 in the semifinals. However, the Nuggets were eliminated by the eventual NBA champion LA Lakers in six games. 

Melo was named to the All-NBA Second Team in 2009–10, but the season ended disappointingly, setting the stage for trade. On February 22, 2011, Anthony was shipped to the Knicks, along with Chauncey Billups, in exchange for Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari, Raymond Felton, Timofey Mozgov, and a future first-round draft pick.