If Carmelo Anthony’s spell with the Houston Rockets doesn’t go according to plan, he might go down in history as the most talented NBA player who never won a ring.
The ten-time NBA All-Star and six-time All-NBA Team member, who made a name for himself in his single college year at Syracuse where he won an NCAA title, is noted for his scoring prowess which puts him among the association’s premier clutch performers.
Early Life and Education
Carmelo Kyam Anthony was born in the Brooklyn, New York City projects of Red Hook. His father, Carmelo Iriarte, who died of cancer when he was just 2 years of age, was Puerto Rican while his mother, Mary Anthony, is African American. When Anthony turned 8, his family moved to Baltimore. It was here that the young athletic boy was able to hone his basketball skills in hopes of using them as a way out of poverty.
Anthony first attended Towson Catholic High School in Maryland for three years before transferring to Oak Hill Academy in Virginia for his senior year. During his time in Towson, Anthony made a name for himself and was widely considered one of the best top players. However, because he lacked strength and was skinny, NBA teams did not consider snapping him up, which meant he had to attend college. Furthermore, for him to have a chance to attend a good school with a reputable basketball program, he had to have good grades, which he did not and this was subsequently the reason why he chose to go to Oak. In his senior year at Oak, Carmelo Anthony was able to pile on weight as he averaged 21.7 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game and was named a USA Today All-USA First Team and a Parade First-Team All-American.
After getting his grades up, Anthony was able to enroll at Syracuse University. He played one college season of basketball where he helped the school win its first-ever NCAA tournament title in 2003. In that 2002-03 season, he averaged 22.2 points and 10.0 rebounds as he led the team in various categories including scoring, rebounding, and minutes played. At the end of the season, he announced his intention to enter the 2003 NBA draft where he was selected by the Denver Nuggets with the 3rd overall pick behind LeBron James and Darko Miličić.
Carmelo Anthony’s Net Worth
Carmelo Anthony is reported to have a net worth estimated to be around $120 million. As one of only three NBA players with a no-trade clause, he was able to amass his huge wealth through contracts over the years in the NBA as well as through the numerous endorsement deals he has had with major companies like Foot Locker, Jordan Brand, Nike, and Nickelodeon.
In 2010, when Anthony was drafted by the Denver Nuggets, he signed a 3 year $10.4 million contract. When that deal expired, he agreed to extend his stay with the Nuggets by signing a brand new 5-year deal worth $80 million in 2006. In 2011, just before he was traded to the New York Knicks, Anthony signed a 3 year $64.2 million extension with Denver. After three years playing as a Knick on the previous contract he had, he put pen to paper on a 5 year $124.1 million contract to continue his stay in Madison Square Garden.
Family – Wife, Son, Divorce
Carmelo Anthony is married to the beautiful Alani Nicole Anthony (nee Vazquez), better known by her stage name, La La. The couple got engaged on Christmas Day in 2004 but finally exchanged vows in July 2010. The ceremony, which was filmed by VH1 for the reality series; La La’s Full Court Wedding, was officiated by author and preacher Michael Eric Dyson with about 320 guests in attendance at Cipriani’s in New York.
Together, the couple has a son named Kiyan Carmelo Anthony who was born on the 7th of March 2007. The family of three lived together in the Upper West Side of New York until 2017 when it was reported that Ms. Anthony had moved out of their apartment and was living separately. It was further reported that the reason she moved out was that her basketball husband had been publicly accused of impregnating another woman. Following numerous reports that the couple was going to get a divorce, La La has revealed that they are not officially divorcing at the moment but are, however, choosing to live separately until they work things out.
Height and Weight
Carmelo Anthony, who was considered to be too skinny to play in the NBA as a high school junior, now weighs about 240 pounds or 109 kg. The 2013 NBA scoring champion further has an impressive height of 6 feet 8 inches or 2.03 m.
