NBA legend and three-time Olympic gold medalist Carmelo Anthony shared how much he values his gold medals when it comes to his professional basketball career.
Anthony revealed that he wouldn’t trade his three Olympic gold medals for one NBA championship ring. During his career, Anthony failed to win an NBA title while playing for the Denver Nuggets, New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Lakers.
“I’ve never been asked that question,” Anthony said when asked if he’d trade his three gold medals for an NBA ring. “No.”
The 10-time All-Star was then asked to elaborate on why he wouldn’t make the swap.
“No, because when we talk about global sport, for me, a medal means something totally different than an NBA championship,” Anthony said. “They both have they own separate meanings, but winnin’ a gold medal, it’s the passion, it’s the pride that you have, not just for a city or a state, (but) for a whole nation, for a whole country that you’re winnin’ for. So, it’s a different level of – I would say pride – that you have to have when you’re wearing USA across your chest or you’re wearin’ Lithuania across your chest, right. It’s a totally different feelin’ than Knicks, New York, across your chest.”
Anthony won Olympic gold medals with Team USA in 2008, 2012 and 2016, and he set a record for the most 3-pointers made in a single Olympic game in Team USA men’s basketball history with 10 during his run.
12 years ago today, Carmelo Anthony sniped a Team USA Men’s Olympic basketball record TEN threes in FOURTEEN MIN vs. Nigeria! 🇺🇸
📊 37 PTS, 13/16 FGM, 10/12 3PM, WIN
2012 Olympics Carmelo was unstoppable! 🪣 pic.twitter.com/GG4foRZJTB
— Courtside Buzz (@CourtsideBuzzX) August 2, 2024
The six-time All-NBA selection averaged 10.8 points, 4,0 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game across four Olympic stints with Team USA. He shot an impressive 41.0 percent from 3-point range, and his best Olympics arguably came in 2012 when he averaged 16.3 points per game across eight matchups.
While Anthony never even made an NBA Finals during his professional career, he clearly values what he accomplished at the Olympic level. With Team USA expected to compete for gold every four years in the Olympics, there is a bit of added pressure for the NBA stars on the team to deliver.
Anthony had some great years with the Nuggets and Knicks, reaching the Western Conference Finals in the 2008-09 season with Denver. While he never made it that far in New York, he had some of the best seasons of his career as a Knick, winning the scoring title in the 2012-13 campaign.
Team USA is looking to add another gold medal to its Olympic history on Saturday in Paris when it takes on Victor Wembanyama and France.
