Syracuse basketball legend Carmelo Anthony has hit a stride with the Portland Trail Blazers. Now, the super scorer hit a new career mark.
The Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Philadelphia 76ers, 124-121, with Damian Lillard erupting for 51 points. In the win, former Syracuse basketball superstar, Carmelo Anthony, had 20 points and 7 rebounds. However, a few different numbers stick out more.
26,411 and 15.
Those are the number of points Melo has scored in his NBA career and where he ranks on the all-time list.
Just 14 players in the history of the thousands that have suited up in the National Basketball Association have scored more points than Anthony, and that list may keep getting shorter.
Melo passed two former Boston Celtics on the night in John Havlicek and Paul Pierce and now sits less than 100 points away from catching Tim Duncan. He passed Pierce on a free throw in the first half, before scoring a few more buckets in the second half. It may be hard for him to pass Duncan this season, but next season it isn’t out of the question.
And if Melo were to average roughly 15 points per game across 70 games next season (in case he sits out some to keep rested), he would climb all the way to 9th all-time, passing Duncan, Dominique Wilkins, Oscar Roberton, Hakeem Olajuwon, Elvin Hayes, and Moses Malone in the process.
It’s hard to predict how much longer the 36-year-old will stay in the league for, but it wouldn’t be inconceivable to see him eventually pass Shaquille O’Neal for 8th all-time. Anything passed that would most likely require Melo to play at least three more seasons, but if 30,000 points is a goal of his, it’s not entirely out of the question.
One thing is for certain. The Blazers and Melo have been a perfect match. Not only has Portland improved since they acquired the former scoring champ, but Anthony has also seemingly revitalized his career.
The four-headed monster of Lillard, Anthony, CJ McCollum, and Jusuf Nurkic has caused trouble during the bubble, as Portland has been 4-2 with both losses coming in crunch time to teams with legitimate chances at advancing to the NBA Finals.
Playoff Melo could be right around the corner, but for now, we can all celebrate his greatness as a scorer.