Stephen A's Take: Carmelo Anthony could have won NBA championships with the Pistons or Heat.

Summary

The Stephen A. Smith Show: Carmelo Anthony's Untapped Championship Potential

Introduction

In the April 4, 2025 episode of The Stephen A. Smith Show hosted by Stephen A. Smith and Max Kellerman, the dynamic duo delves deep into the career of Carmelo Anthony, exploring the "what-ifs" that surround his journey in the NBA. The episode, titled "Stephen A's Take: Carmelo Anthony could have won NBA championships with the Pistons or Heat," offers a comprehensive analysis of Anthony's potential championship successes had different decisions been made throughout his career.

Carmelo Anthony: An Elite Scorer and Hall of Famer

Stephen A. Smith kicks off the discussion by highlighting Carmelo Anthony's illustrious career:

"This brother right here is one of the elite scorers the game has ever seen." (01:22)

Anthony, a 10-time NBA All-Star and a six-time All-NBA selection, was drafted third overall in the 2003 NBA Draft by the Denver Nuggets, narrowly missing out on being selected directly after LeBron James and just ahead of Dwyane Wade. Smith emphasizes Anthony's scoring prowess, citing his average of 21 points per game as a rookie and approximately 24.7 points per game during his tenure with the New York Knicks.

Smith continues:

"He is one of the greatest offensive players we have ever seen in our lifetime." (08:59)

Anthony's ability to score from various positions on the court, including his drop step, jab step, and jump shooting, established him as a formidable offensive force.

Missed Opportunity with the Detroit Pistons

A significant portion of the discussion centers around the 2003 NBA Draft and a pivotal decision made by the Detroit Pistons' president of basketball operations, Joe Dumars. Smith critiques Dumars' choice to select Darko Milichich with the Pistons' second overall pick instead of Carmelo Anthony:

"If Carmelo Anthony had been in the Detroit Pistons uniform, he'd have had a title because they wouldn't have lost it with him." (03:16)

He argues that Anthony's addition to the Pistons' already talented roster, which included Tayshaun Prince, Rip Hamilton, Chauncey Billups, Ben Wallace, and Rasheed Wallace, could have secured an NBA championship for Detroit. Smith believes that Anthony's scoring ability would have complemented the Pistons' defense, potentially leading to back-to-back championships and an extended period of dominance.

Smith acknowledges Joe Dumars' overall excellence as an executive but considers passing on Anthony as a glaring mistake that altered the trajectory of both franchises:

"But the biggest, most glaring mistake of his Executive career... was passing up on Carmelo Anthony." (04:12)

The Miami Heat Scenario: A Championship Trio

Transitioning from the Pistons, Smith and Kellerman examine what might have transpired if Anthony had opted to join the Miami Heat alongside LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh. The discussion delves into contract negotiations and strategic decisions that led Anthony to remain with the Nuggets instead:

"Melo didn't do that. He had a contract with Denver that it was for five years with no out because... he wasn't putting himself in a position where he wasn't gonna be able to get that money." (05:28)

Smith contends that Anthony's refusal to exercise an opt-out clause, unlike his contemporaries, prevented him from joining a burgeoning superstar trio. He speculates that Anthony's aggressive playstyle and scoring would have significantly bolstered the Heat's chances, potentially leading to at least three NBA championships during the LeBron-Wade era.

"That Carmelo Anthony, I believe would have saved the Miami Heat in that final." (08:20)

They discuss how Anthony's leadership and offensive dominance might have altered key Finals matchups, such as the Heat's series against the Dallas Mavericks, where Smith believes Anthony's presence could have been the difference-maker.

Carmelo Anthony's Legacy and What Might Have Been

Despite the hypothetical scenarios, Smith and Kellerman acknowledge Anthony's impressive achievements outside of NBA championships. His three Olympic gold medals, national championship at Syracuse University, and consistent All-Star performances cement his legacy as one of the game's greats.

"He's a Hall of Famer without question now because he's won three Olympic gold medals. He's a 10-time All-Star." (08:59)

However, they express a shared sentiment of regret that Anthony never captured an NBA championship, considering it the only notable absence in his otherwise stellar basketball résumé.

"I just wish that Carmelo Anthony had captured an NBA championship." (09:34)

Conclusion

The episode concludes with a heartfelt acknowledgment of Carmelo Anthony's talents and character. While celebrating his individual accolades and off-court persona, Stephen A. Smith and Max Kellerman poignantly reflect on the championships that might have been, had circumstances aligned differently.

"I'm really, really, really happy for him. I just wish that I could have seen him in an NBA Finals because it would have been something to behold." (10:06)

Key Takeaways

• Carmelo Anthony's Scoring Prowess: Recognized as one of the greatest offensive players in NBA history, with consistent high scoring averages throughout his career.

• Detroit Pistons' Missed Opportunity: The Pistons' decision to draft Darko Milichich over Anthony in 2003 is viewed as a pivotal moment that could have altered the franchise's success trajectory.

• Miami Heat's Potential: Anthony's hypothetical inclusion in the Miami Heat could have led to multiple NBA championships, leveraging his aggressive playstyle and scoring ability.

• Legacy Beyond Championships: Despite not winning an NBA title, Anthony's legacy is solidified through his Olympic successes, All-Star appearances, and overall impact on the game.

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• "This brother right here is one of the elite scorers the game has ever seen." (01:22)

• "If Carmelo Anthony had been in the Detroit Pistons uniform, he'd have had a title because they wouldn't have lost it with him." (03:16)

• "He is one of the greatest offensive players we have ever seen in our lifetime." (08:59)

• "That Carmelo Anthony, I believe would have saved the Miami Heat in that final." (08:20)

• "I just wish that Carmelo Anthony had captured an NBA championship." (09:34)

Closing Thoughts

Stephen A. Smith and Max Kellerman provide an insightful examination of Carmelo Anthony's career, blending factual analysis with passionate speculation. The episode serves not only as a tribute to Anthony's abilities and achievements but also as a reflective piece on how pivotal decisions can shape the legacy of even the most talented athletes.

Transcript

[AT&T Representative]

At&t has a new guarantee because most things in life are not guaranteed like getting through self checkout by yourself. Not guaranteed in a world where Nothing is guaranteed. AT&T is bringing something new to the table. AT&T is introducing a guarantee with connectivity you can depend on, deals you want and service you deserve or they make it right. Learn [e-mail] guarantee@&t connecting changes everything. Terms and conditions apply. Visit att.com guaranty for details.

[Laura Carrenti]

What's up? I'm Laura, host of the podcast Courtside with Laura Carrenti, a masterclass case study of the business of women's sports. I'll be chatting with leaders like tennis icon Alana Kloss.

[Alana Kloss]

I don't do what I do only for women. I do it for everyone and I.

[Laura Carrenti]

Want the whole market and innovators like Jenny Nguyen.

[Jenny Nguyen]

I would say 50% of the people that come visit the sports Bra aren't sports fans. They come to be in community. They come to be part of this culture.

[Laura Carrenti]

Courtside with Laura quarenti is an iHeart women's sports production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. Listen to Courtside with Laura carenti on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Elf Beauty, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports.

[Stephen A. Smith]

I got to start off with some basketball because I got some stuff on my mind.

[Max Kellerman]

All right. I want to give props to the.

[Stephen A. Smith]

One and only Carmelo Anthony who was informed just yesterday.

[Max Kellerman]

He'll be inducted into the Naismith Basketball.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Hall of fame class of 2025. The 10 time NBA All Star was selected third overall in the 2003 draft by the Denver Nuggets, just two picks behind LeBron James and two picks ahead of Dwyane Wade. Mello is a six time All NBA selection who quickly became one of the league's premier scorers, averaging 21 points per game. As a rookie. Before all of that, Carmelo burst into the national spotlight. If you remember, as a freshman phenom at Syracuse University, leading the Orange men to their only national championship, which was back in 2003. This brother right here is one of the elite scorers the game has ever seen. In the New York Knick uniform, he averaged about 24.7 points. Okay, averaged about seven rebounds. The brother was a scoring machine. He was Mr. Buckets. This is what he did. His drop step, I mean his jab step, everything. His jump shooting ability, his ability to post play with his back to the basket play facing the basket. He is one of the elite scorers the game has ever seen. And I got to tell you something right now.

[Max Kellerman]

I've known him for years. It's like family to me.

[Stephen A. Smith]

That's how much love I got for that brother. Because he's a special dude. He got a perfect name. Mellow, because he don't bother anybody.

[Max Kellerman]

He was never one of those dudes.

[Stephen A. Smith]

He was an individual that just got along with everybody. Most folks, if not all of them, had mad love and respect for him. They still respect him to this very day. His business ventures off the side. He ain't poor. He ain't getting poor anytime soon. He's a wealthy individual. Make no mistake about it. But he could ball. And when I think about him, I.

[Max Kellerman]

Think about two things. Two things.

[Stephen A. Smith]

And I'm going to stand here for this one right here. When I see. When I look at him in a Nuggets uniform, two things come to my mind.

[Max Kellerman]

He was drafted by them, number three overall. That should not have been the case. He should have been drafted number two, directly right behind LeBron James. And it's a hard subject for me.

[Stephen A. Smith]

To bring up because one of the great executives in NBA history was Joe.

[Max Kellerman]

Dumas of the Detroit Pistons, who had.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Guided the franchise, as its president of basketball operations, to sit six consecutive conference finals appearances, back to back trips to the NBA Finals, and won a championship, beating Kobe and Shaq and those boys in Detroit 2004 for the NBA championship. What happened in 2003, though? The Detroit Pistons had the number two pick and decided they wanted to go with Darko Milichick. And why did they do that? Because they had Tayshaun Prince. They also had Rip Hamilton and Chauncey Billups as your backcourt. You had Ben Wallace and you ultimately had Rasheed Wallace. And I get all of that. But in the end, because you had Tayson, Sean Prince and you had a championship squad you drafted based on need instead of grabbing the best available talent. And if Carmelo Anthony had been in the Detroit Pistons uniform, he'd have had a title because they wouldn't have lost it with him, whether he was starting or coming off the bench. They would not have lost the title with that crew if Carmelo Anthony was a part of that squad. So that's one time that there was an opportunity missed, albeit that was not his fault. And again, it's a subject that's difficult for me to bring up because I love me some Joe Dumas, who I thought was absolutely, positively exceptional at his job. But the biggest, most glaring mistake of his Executive career, not his playing career, because he was playing alongside Isaiah Thomas in the backcourt and played with Bill and Beer, John Sally, Rick Horn and all of these brothers. Adrian Dantley, let's not forget amp Mark Aguirre, ultimately, remember, Joe Dumas was a champion as a player, he became a champion as an executive. But by passing up on Carmelo Anthony, I believe it interrupted a lengthy period of time.

[Max Kellerman]

They would have been dominant and it.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Certainly cost that brother a championship in Detroit.

[Max Kellerman]

He should have been a Detroit Pistons.

[Stephen A. Smith]

But I'm a walk over here to think about my next subject, because Carmelo Anthony ended up being a New York.

[Max Kellerman]

Knickerbocker and I understand that.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Here's what happened, ladies and gentlemen. He was in Denver as a nugget. The year was 2007. LeBron James, D. Wade, Melo, everybody was operating under their initial deal into the NBA. Back in 2003, contract negotiations kicked in and what LeBron and D. Wade and ultimately Chris Bosh did was carve out and opt out in their clauses for the year 2010 when they were due to become a free agent. Rather than grab the whole five year deal for the bag, they said, no, we gonna exercise a player option after year three. Melo didn't do that. He had a contract. He had a contract with Denver that it was for five years with no out because being a Baltimore native growing up poor, that brother wasn't putting himself in a position where he wasn't gonna be able to get that money. He wanted every dollar guaranteed. And so he signed off for the five years as opposed to taking the three and opting out because he didn't want to find himself getting injured or anything like that. And then after three years, he'd be able to compromise his money. That was a risk he wasn't willing to take. Where's LeBron, D. Wade? And ultimately Bosh did. Why do I bring that up? Because whether D. Wade, LeBron and the crew want to admit this or not, this brother right here, Carmelo Anthony, would have been with Miami.

[Max Kellerman]

It wasn't supposed to be Bosh, it was supposed to be Melo.

[Stephen A. Smith]

And here's what I'm saying to all of you right here in America right now as we speak, I want to make sure that for the record, I am very, very clear with what I am about to say. I love me some Chris Bosh. What he did on the defensive side of the ball can't be minimized in any way. He's a Hall of Famer. Props to him.

[Max Kellerman]

But I believe that if Carmelo Anthony was on the Miami Heat.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Miami Heat doesn't have two titles out of four in the LeBron D. Wade era.

[Max Kellerman]

I believe they have at least three.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Because that loss against Dallas, when LeBron struggled in those fourth quarters, the D. Wade, that was deferential because he knew that LeBron was the best. And even though he did his thing, he was being deferential. That wasn't Carmelo. Carmelo would have said, man, yo, y'all give me the ball, give me the ball. I'm tired of this, give me the ball.

[Max Kellerman]

And he handled business.

[Stephen A. Smith]

That was the kind of offensive juggernaut that he was.

[Max Kellerman]

That level of aggression, that's who he was.

[Stephen A. Smith]

He wasn't being deferential to anybody. When the ball was in his hands.

[Max Kellerman]

The ball was going to be in his hands.

[Stephen A. Smith]

That Carmelo Anthony, I believe would have saved the Miami Heat in that final.

[Max Kellerman]

Series against Dallas and LeBron James Fershee in South Beach.

[Stephen A. Smith]

So that's not one, but two opportunities, two bites at the apple in my opinion. One not no fault of his own and the other is a fault of Carmelo Anthony because he didn't have that opt out in his contract that ultimately cost him a championship.

[Max Kellerman]

And that's the only thing that's sad about his career. He's a three time Olympic champion, but he's only won three playoff series in his career. He lost 13.

[Stephen A. Smith]

He's one of the greatest offensive players we have ever seen in our lifetime. He's a Hall of Famer, a Hall of Fame without question now because he's won three Olympic gold medals. He's a 10 time all star.

[Max Kellerman]

Scoring.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Champion, 2013, averaging 28.7 points a game.

[Max Kellerman]

Mr. Buckets. But no matter what he is as a basketball player, he's even better as a person.

[Stephen A. Smith]

I couldn't be happier for him and what he's been able to achieve.

[Max Kellerman]

I just wish that Carmelo Anthony had captured an NBA championship. He never played in the NBA finals, never won a championship in the NBA. It's the only place he's never won. That part saddens me because I think that messes up an otherwise flawless, impeccable basketball resume.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Jim Boeheim coached at Syracuse 40 years.

[Max Kellerman]

There's only one man that delivered him a championship.

[Stephen A. Smith]

He's had Derrick Coleman, he's had Sherman Douglas. He's had the greatest show in the history of college basketball in Dwayne Pearl, Washington.

[Max Kellerman]

But only one man delivered him a championship. It was Carmelo Anthony, three time Olympic gold medalist, national champion and now a Hall of Famer. I'm really, really, really happy for him. I just wish that I could have seen him in an NBA Finals because it would have been something to behold. That's all I wanted to say. That's all I wanted to say.

[Laura Carrenti]

What's up? I'm Laura, host of the podcast Courtside with Laura Carrenti, a masterclass case study of the business of women's sports. I'll be chatting with leaders like tennis icon Alana Kloss.

[Alana Kloss]

I don't do what I do only for women. I do it for everyone. And I want the whole market.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Everyone.

[Laura Carrenti]

And innovators like Jenny Nguyen.

[Jenny Nguyen]

I would say 50% of the people that come visit the Sports Bra aren't sports fans. They come to be in community. They come to be part of this culture.

[Laura Carrenti]

Courtside with Laura Carenti is an iHeart women's sports production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. Listen to Courtside with Laura carenti on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Elf Beauty, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports.

[Hitchhim]

Have you ever wondered, if your pet is lying to you, why is my.

[Laura Carrenti]

Cat not here and I go in and she's eating my lunch?

[Hitchhim]

Or if hypnotism is real, we will use this suggestion in order to enhance your cognitive control. But what's inside a black hole?

[Alana Kloss]

Black holes could be a consequence of.

[Laura Carrenti]

The way that we understand the universe.

[Hitchhim]

Well, we have answers for you in the new I Heart original podcast, Science Stuff. Join me or Hitchhim as we answer questions about animals, space, our brains and our bodies. So give yourself permission to be a science geek and listen to science stuff on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.