Only one month separates Carmelo Anthony from his 19th season in the NBA. Since arriving in the league back in 2003, he has established himself as one of the best scorers in the competition. And although his role has diminished over the years, his reputation and talent are beyond question.
However, there is a success that still resists the player at 37 years of age: the champion ring. An achievement that became his main motivation to sign this summer with the Los Angeles Lakers and thus join the large group of stars led by LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook.
“I have achieved many of my individual goals but now there is only one thing for me,” Anthony told the outlet. USA Today. “That is the only thing I have to think about, what I can think about and what I should think about. The ring. Everything else should be irrelevant. “
However, there is another milestone much closer that appears on the horizon of Carmelo. The player (27,370 points) needs just 40 points to surpass Moses Malone (27,409) as the NBA’s ninth all-time leading scorer. “Those are fun and exciting things,” admitted the ten-time All-Star. “Everything is part of the trip and the experience. We know that we are fighting for something bigger, which is the championship, but on that road there are moments like these that we must appreciate. “
When the Lakers start the training camp within two weeks, the first questions about your future will be able to begin to be answered. The roster features an interesting mix of All-Stars, veterans and youth, although the median age of the main core and doubts about adjustments divide fans into optimists and skeptics.
At this point, Carmelo pointed out that they have all the necessary pieces to win a ring, although he wanted to point out the difference between having a wide range of stars and making them fit together to achieve the goal. In addition, he started with the need to stay healthy.
“Health can be our best ally or our greatest kryptonite”, warned Melo. “But also from anyone. Not being healthy changes the dynamics of an entire team. But we have got down to work. It does not mean that things are going to work out simply by putting this team together. We have to make them work. I think we will succeed but there is a lot of work ahead of us. “
On a more individual basis, Anthony stated that he felt “better than I have in a long time” and avoided putting a date on his retirement. “My body will tell me when it is time to go. In the last year I made a change to keep some gasoline in the tank but now I don’t think about it. “
(Cover photo by Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
