Carmelo Anthony's Best Teammates Throughout His NBA Career

After nearly two decades of rumors swirling around playing together, Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James finally teamed up on the 2021-22 Los Angeles Lakers, and no one could have imagined what was about to happen. While the two were great friends off the court, on the court, father time showed for both players, and neither had a particularly good year. James put up great numbers while he played, but injuries riddled his season and left him marginalized to only playing 56 games, and Melo would play his last year in the NBA, as he looked to be on the final legs of his career. The Lakers finished with a record of 33-49 and missed the playoffs completely.

Allen Iverson was traded to the Denver Nuggets during the 2006-07 NBA campaign, and he played alongside one of the greatest up-and-coming players in the league in Carmelo Anthony. While many were baffled at the trade at first, both with a player the caliber of Iverson's being traded away for seemingly nothing and the fact that both men needed to have the ball in their hands, the duo played relatively well together. While Iverson would be shipped off during the 2008-09 season, Melo and Iverson would still manage to make the playoffs in both years they played together, and even managed to win 50 games the year before Iverson left the team.

When Carmelo Anthony joined Paul George on the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2017-18, many fans predicted that the next true contender had been born. Russell Westbrook was just a season removed from his MVP season, George was playing some of the best ball of his career, and Melo was supposed to be the final piece, and he played masterfully with the squad. With George being an incredible shooter, drive, and passer of the ball, Melo saw his touches dwindle, but he accepted his role along the superstars, became one of the better spot-up shooters in the league, and helped the squad have the 7th best record in the league.

One of Carmelo Anthony's longest-running teammates, J.R. Smith played with the superstar for an astonishing 10 years, with both the Denver Nuggets and New York Knicks from the 2006-07 season to the 2014-15 season. Smith was the Nuggets' resident sixth man who could come in the game and light up the scoreboard, a role he was great at, but perfected in his time with the Knicks. Smith was a lights-out shooter who often performed more highlights in a game than most players in their career, and he was almost always in the closing lineups with Melo throughout their wonderful tenure together.

Carmelo Anthony and Russell Westbrook had two vastly different stints playing together in their career, once on the 2017-18 Oklahoma City Thunder, and again on the 2021-22 Los Angeles Lakers. On the Thunder, Melo was a part of a dangerous big three with Westbrook and Paul George. On paper they were one of the best teams in the league and a championship contender that looked like it could knock off the defending champion Golden State Warriors. Melo turned into Hoodie Melo this season, became a masterful spot-up shooter, and even tried on the defensive end. The same things cannot be said for their time together on the Lakers. The Lakers were one of the most underwhelming and disappointing teams of the decade, and Melo would actually play his last year in the league on the squad.

Carmelo Anthony was seemingly gone from the league before he got one last chance to play with Damian Lillard and the Portland Trailblazers. He took this opportunity to show the NBA world that he was still one of the greatest to ever play. Redefining his role and play style, Melo was no longer the ball-dominant ISO scorer, but took a backseat to the masterful Lillard, and became one of the best complimentary pieces in the game during the 2019-20 season. While their season may have ended with them getting bounced in the first round, Melo had proven he was still a contributor in the NBA, and Lillard was his number-one cheerleader, rooting for his teammate the whole way.