Considering how Carmelo Anthony remains significant to the plans of would-be title contenders, it’s hard to imagine how close he came to being out of the National Basketball Association (NBA) for good. But he did come close, and, for a while, was actually on the outside looking in. Three years ago, he saw the Rockets unceremoniously dump him after 10 games, with his “I’m too good not to start” sense of self most certainly not helping his cause. He spent the rest of the 2018-19 season taking stock of his worth, and, in retrospect, the absence did him a lot of good. He was in a Blazer uniform the next time he suited up, and the two years he spent alongside All-Star Damian Lillard and extremely underrated CJ McCollum helped him adjust to life as a supersub.
These days, Anthony is happy playing his part off the bench. He’s chugging along just fine, and, in fact, proved instrumental in the Lakers’ first victory of their 2020-21 campaign. For all the marquee names dotting the roster, he was the single biggest reason they finally broke into the win column after poor performances off the blocks. Not LeBron James. Not Anthony Davis. Not Russell Westbrook. Him. And it was, perhaps, only fitting that his heroics coincided with his passing of acknowledged great Moses Malone to ninth in the all-time scoring list.
The previous iteration of Anthony would have reveled in the moment, taking in all the accolades to feed his ego. Instead, he used the occasion to reflect on his longevity, and, in the process, comprehend that his continued significance in the league stemmed from his acceptance of his reduced role in the grand scheme of things. He’s no spring chicken at 37, and he figures to be closer to the rocking chair than to the treadmill. Yet, if nothing else, his stellar showing against the Grizzlies the other day underscored his capacity to make a difference now and then.
Granted, the Lakers seem destined to be a year-long experiment in counter-programming. At a time when pace and space call for speed and mobility, they stack up on bigs and employ, for the most part, an elephant-walk offense that Westbrook’s presence aims to correct. They also launched an experience invasion that’s akin to rolling the dice. As far as Anthony’s concerned, though, they’re not wrong to have done so. And he knows he’s Exhibit A. Once upon a time, he would have shouted it to the world. Now, he’s content to let his accomplishments do the talking. He got the Lakers their inaugural win of the season. If he stays grounded, there’s no reason he can’t help them get closer to the hardware.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and Human Resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
