For a significant period his career in the NBA, All-Star forward Carmelo Anthony has established himself as one of Team USA’s best players. Together with WNBA legend Sue Bird, the former New York Knicks star reflected on their first run at the Olympics.
Anthony is a legendary figure in USA Basketball, playing a vital role in the team’s decade of excellence from 2007 to 2016. Despite a rocky start in the 2004 Athens Olympics, where the USA won bronze, the rest of his Olympic career was nothing short of remarkable.
He is the first player to represent the USA in four Olympic basketball tournaments, and in Rio 2016, he became the country’s all-time leading Olympic scorer (336 points) and rebounder (125). Anthony’s performances earned him the nickname “FIBA Melo” as he thrived in the international game, showcasing his scoring prowess and versatility.
Among his most memorable performances, Anthony highlighted his farewell game against Serbia in the 2016 Olympic final, where he secured his third gold medal and became the USA’s all-time rebounding leader. Other standout moments include his dominant displays against Argentina in the 2012 and 2008 semifinals, as well as his record-breaking 31-point performance against Australia in the 2016 preliminary round, where he became the USA’s all-time leading scorer.
Former NBA Star Carmelo Anthony and WNBA Icon Sue Bird Open Up About Their First Run in the Olympics
With his time as an active player now done, Anthony has a chance to take a look back at his career as an Olympian. Together with Bird, the All-Star forward shared more in an episode of 7PM in Brooklyn, a Wave Sports + Entertainment Original.
SUE: “For me, D [Diana Turasi] played a little bit but we were being groomed like, you guys are next. We had Dawn Staley on the team, Cheryll Swoops is on the team, Lisa Leslie is on the team. So we’re like all right, you guys are the now we’re next.
MELO: “We didn’t have Dawn Staley and Lisa Leslie it was different. That’s Mount Rushmore who they had in front of them…It was funny as shit though for me. At the time, I couldn’t understand it [why I wasn’t playing], like how?”
SUE: “Especially, what are you thinking when ya’ll lose to Puerto Rico?”
MELO: “I was bittersweet like damn we lost to Puerto Rico, first game…So I’m on this side looking at the USA people and it’s like ‘damn they gonna kill us’ but on the other side it’s like damn, ‘hold up where the party at?’ Lemme come over there with ya’ll for a second.”
SUE: “You went to the [Puerto Rico Olympic] village?”
MELO: “I went to the village to mingle. I wasn’t supposed to let that out of the bag, because we wasn’t suppose to leave the boat. Leaving the boat was like you get suspended a game. Larry Brown had it locked down.”
For her part, Bird is the all-time leader in Olympic assists and has been a vital part of the USA’s dominant basketball program. Her playmaking skills, court vision, and leadership have made Bird one of the most dominant players in the Olympics with five gold medals to her name.
Unlike in latter years, both Bird and Anthony’s first run on the global stage wasn’t as flashy as either one wanted. Nevertheless, they both made their respective cases in the years that followed, making their legacies stronger.
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