The friendship between two NBA stars LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony has become even closer as they enter their 19th year. Although they are competing for a spot in the Western Conference semifinals, for them it is not a confrontation but an honor to stand together on the field.
While in the Eastern Conference, the Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets sadly stopped early in the playoffs, the competition between the No. 1 seed (Los Angeles Lakers) and the No. 8 seed (Portland Trail Blazers) in the Western Conference is taking place very fiercely. It marked the second confrontation in the NBA Playoffs between the pair LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony.
Looking back at their 17 years together in the NBA, they have had a total of 35 encounters. In 2012, they also faced off in the Playoffs for the New York Knicks and Miami Heat. However, few people know that the rivalry between LeBron and Melo started when they were teenagers. That fate has led them to become colleagues and friends like they are now.
LeBron James (left) and Carmelo Anthony (right) have been together since their teenage years.
In the summer of 2001, James and Anthony were both unknown high school students. They first met at the USA Basketball Youth Camp. King James was 16 years old at the time and his best friend was a year older. A year later, they met again in a fateful match between their two high schools.
Although it was just a high school basketball game, it attracted a lot of viewers and left a deep impression on the audience because of the healthy competition from the young stars. Both of them considered each other their biggest rivals. However, from the first encounter, they gave each other a certain respect. That was a very precious and rare thing in teenage players like LeBron and Melo at that time.
Their bond began to form from there. Sharing about the close friendship between himself and “King James”, the Portland superstar affirmed: “We grew up together. Somehow, we were always connected.”
In 2003, they continued to work together in the NBA Draft. LeBron James was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the first pick, while Carmelo Anthony was taken by the Denver Nuggets with the third pick.
However, Melo’s NBA career has not been as smooth as the “King” as he has never tasted the championship. Along with that, Carmelo Anthony himself is considered “waste” after being rejected by the Houston Rockets a year ago.
Carmelo was almost unemployed when he left the Houston Rockets while LeBron was the mainstay of the Purple-Gold team.
However, they still had time to be teammates on the national team at 2 Olympics. James himself shared that it was those experiences that made the two of them become a close pair, rarely anyone understands “The King” like his good friend Melo.
“Competing for a championship is just a small part of the stories that we will sit down and talk about after we retire. The games, not just as opponents, but as teammates are precious,” LeBron shared after the Lakers’ win over the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 3 of the 2020 NBA Playoffs yesterday.
Becoming teammates in the international arena is a memorable experience for the LeBron – Melo duo.
True to the 35-year-old player’s assertion, after 19 years, whether they are opponents or on the same side, they still have the same respect and admiration for each other as they did on their first day playing at the 2001 AAU Basketball tournament. In this year’s NBA, the confrontation between the two soulmates becomes even more interesting when both players may be at the peak of their careers.
In the latest match, Melo dropped 20 points into the Lakers’ basket. The 36-year-old superstar proved that he is still a killer shooter as ever with a 3-point shooting efficiency of up to 70%. Meanwhile, LeBron was not far behind when bringing his team 38 points and a scoring rate of 50% with 3-point shots. The efforts of the Los Angeles Lakers leader brought the team to the 2nd victory in the playoff series, leading the opponent Portland Trail Blazers 2-1.
19 years later, Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James have become top NBA superstars, but they still play with the passion and spirit of 18-year-old boys.
With the achievements and contributions of LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony to American basketball, fans will soon see the pair receive the Hall of Fame award together in the not too distant future. However, perhaps for these two veteran players, their current joy is simply “enjoying the feeling of standing on the court together, whether as teammates or on opposite sides of the battle line”.
LeBron – Melo will soon meet again tomorrow morning, August 25 at 8:30 (Vietnam time) to continue competing for a place in the Western Conference semi-finals of the 2019-20 NBA Playoffs.
