The best player in basketball Olympic history might not be Michael Jordan or LeBron James.
And no matter what The King does in the 2024 Paris Summer Games, he won’t be able to touch the awesome power of ‘Olympics Melo.’
That was the nickname given to the No. 3 overall pick of the 2003 NBA Draft when he was in his FIBA prime.
And when Carmelo Anthony was on fire during the Summer Games, no one was stopping Olympics Melo — AKA the greatest player in basketball history.
“God, that jumper,” one fan tweeted.
“Near perfection,” a second fan posted.
“He is the greatest Olympic basketball player of all-time,” a third fan wrote. “Just call him Captain America.”
Olympics Melo was so perfect against Nigeria in 2012 that his statistics barely look real.
The former Denver Nuggets great and New York Knicks franchise face sank 13-of-16 shots.
But that wasn’t the real stat.
Olympics Melo also drained 10-of-12 3-pointers, sinking 3 after 3 as Team USA stormed to an unbelievable 156-73 victory over Nigeria on Aug. 2, 2012.
As Kevin Durant, James Harden, Chris Paul and James more than doubled Nigeria’s score and Team USA won by 83 points, Olympics Melo scored 37 points in just 14 minutes of court time.
Anthony was so incredible that The King only scored six points and it didn’t matter.
“He’s one of the most underrated superstars ever,” a fan tweeted.
Looking back on his Olympics Melo days, the 10-time All-Star and member of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team credited FIBA rules and his USA teamates.
“They put me in positions on the court to succeed and shoot the ball,” Anthony said. “They knew what they were getting. They trusted me, they believed in me.
“But that was something I had to work on over time, get those guys believing in me. That I’ll be there to make a shot. We could get hot, but I’ll (always) be there to make a shot.”
Against Nigeria, Olympics Melo outscored everyone else in the building and hit more 3s than Team USA’s opponent.
Anthony was one of the best players in the NBA during his Denver days, then forced a trade to New York and never threatened for a championship.
He bounced from Oklahoma City to Houston, Portland and the Los Angeles Lakers in his later years, becoming a bench player while the NBA oddly avoided the six-time winner of Player of the Month.
But as Durant and James go for gold again in Paris, Olympics Melo is more legendary than ever.
For all of the attention given to KD and The King, no one has been as unstoppable on a Summer Games hardwood as Olympics Melo.
Especially when he dropped 37 points and sank 10 3s in fewer than 15 minutes.
“That game was just more like in the zone,” Anthony said. “From the minute you wake up, everything is aligned, everything feels good. No issues, no worries, the body feels good, the mind feels good.
“Then you go to the game and it’s there. You hit the first one and then you hit the second one and it’s unexpected. And it’s like, ‘He’s got it going.’
“So now my teammates put me in those positions. Chris Paul was finding me. LeBron was finding me. Guys were cheering. We were up 50-something points and guys were still cheering and it was like a major part of the game.”
Anthony appeared in four Olympics and won three golds.
He averaged 16.3 points on 53.5 percent shooting in 2012 and hit 50 percent of his 3s, adding 4.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 17.9 minutes.
Team USA resumes 2024 Olympic action on Wednesday against South Sudan, who almost pulled off a huge upset in London.
talkSPORT brings you live coverage of the Paris Olympics this summer, with Sir Steve Redgrave and Dame Kelly Holmes among our legendary line-up of pundits. Listen to talkSPORT or talkSPORT 2 through the website, via the app, or through your smart speaker. And follow our live blog for all the latest news.
News Summary:
- ‘Olympics Melo’ had a performance for the ages, as Carmelo Anthony scored 37 points in just 14 minutes and Team USA scored an unbelievable 156 points
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