They are two players that will always be linked. Even before entering the league they had faced off as the two biggest names in high school hoops. The hype only grew as LeBron finished out his dominant high school career and Carmelo would lead his Syracuse Orangemen to a national title.
The next step was the NBA. If not for a bust of a second overall pick in Darko Milicic, the two would have been the first and second selections. Instead ‘Melo slid to third to the Nuggets, while LeBron would stay put in Ohio with the Cavs.
Both had great rookie seasons but it was LeBron who took the Rookie of the Year award. Their rival rookie years share some comparisons to those of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson.
Even though LeBron would be named the best rookie it was Carmelo’s team that had the better record and made a playoff appearance. Similarly, Bird was named the best rookie but Magic’s team would win the title that year.
Unfortunately that’s where the rivalry comparisons stop. Bird and Magic would meet in the finals many times and have fierce battles. You can’t mention one without the other. Bird would finish his career with three titles and Magic with five.
The LeBron-Carmelo rivalry has been far more lopsided with LeBron leading the championship race at three to zero. They have never played in a finals against each other. Part of that is because for the past six years they have played in the same conference. But aside from that Carmelo has never even made a conference finals appearance.
Every year that ‘Melo is stuck on a losing team it seems like another year we are deprived of a rivalry that was supposed to happen. Just think about how different things could have been if he would have had a contending team to back him. Let’s say he still ends up in New York but instead has a good team around him, does LeBron still make it to the finals six years in a row?
With both players now in their 14th year, we have missed out on their team’s rivalries during their prime. Not that either has slowed down much, especially LeBron who claims he is getting stronger with age.
But time every once in awhile ticks just loud enough for us to realize that the two won’t play forever. And with that fact in mind, time is of the essence for ‘Melo to step up to the plate with a legit team and take a crack at LeBron.
The good news is that he now has the best team around him that he’s had in a long time. Even though his point guard Derrick Rose will never be the MVP form of himself again, he’s still a solid contributor and above average point guard.
Similar to his Bulls and now Knick teammate, Joakim Noah also won’t be the same guy again that was in the MVP race way back when. But he can still rebound and protect the rim. Not to mention that he hasn’t forgotten the art of passing that he’s mastered.
And then there’s that 7’3″ kid who has the skill set of a guard, Kristaps Porzingis. There’s no doubt that he has improved since his rookie season and that he will continue to get better. A large part of his growth depends on Carmelo Anthony, though.
‘Melo was not a real happy camper during the whole “Linsanity” breakout of former teammate Jeremy Lin. At this point in his career though, winning has to be the absolute only thing on his mind. And if giving up some spotlight to Porzingis in order to win is what it takes, then he better do it.
The Knicks currently sit at 13-10 in the 5th spot in the east. As of now they aren’t much of a threat to keeping LeBron from reaching the finals for a seventh straight year.
If this threat will become a little more serious remains to be seen, but until the I personally will be rooting on the Knicks. Doesn’t mean I won’t want the Cavs to reach the finals, but I’d like to see them finally be tested in a conference finals series.
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