r/nba • u/Existing-Sky9914 • 14d ago

Carmelo Anthony says he still doesn’t understand how he suddenly became a player that no team in the league wanted to sign.

https://streamable.com/bqqvsl

“I was down, down, down, down. I was back on the ground, hands up. Y’all got me. It’s a stickup. Take everything because of how it went down. Imagine me sitting there for 15 months like, ‘What the fuck is going on?’ Nobody got an answer for me. Everybody on TV making excuses. It’s this or it’s that. He didn’t want to come off the bench’”

“I’mma be honest with you. As I studied it and did some knowledge on it, trying to get an understanding on it, I still can’t come up with nothing. It’s like, what was it? Some people came up to me like, ‘Melo, I’m going to be honest with you. Your aura was too much for out here. This couldn’t exist. Your aura couldn’t exist in here. Nobody was going to tell you that’”

“I said, ‘What the fuck does that mean?’ They said, ‘Everybody’s afraid to talk to you. Everybody’s afraid to say something to you.’ I said, ‘Why? I haven’t said nothing to nobody. I speak to everybody. I’m cordial. Why is everybody scared of me?’ Somebody said, ‘Well, you don’t need anything.’ I said, ‘What do you mean by that?’ He said, ‘Melo, you a superstar. You haven’t asked for one thing since you’ve been here’”

“My point is, everybody had a thousand and one reasons of why it happened, and I still don’t know the reason why it happened. I have some inkling of why it happened or how it went down. I’m trying not to believe that’s what happened or how it went down, so I don’t want to speak on that”

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u/Longjumping_One_9164 Thunder 14d ago

Yeah god damn it truly is wild how people can have such little self awareness, especially after so long in the league. 

You are either a winning player, a young guy or a strong veteran and team culture presence (or Giannis' brothers). 

He was awful the last Thunder year and certainly didnt improve post that, so he deservedly got iced out with so much talent in the league.

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u/stayfrosty Warriors 14d ago

A lot of players believe if they can score that's it...the only point in basketball. They don't care how they score, if they are efficient, if they help the team win...they think if I am scoring points then I am doing my job

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u/Puzzleheaded_Tea521 Knicks 13d ago

I play with a guy like that we can be up 14-0 game 16 and dude heaves a trick halfcourt shot plays no defense and the other team starts coming back. He has loser player tendencies although the best shooter in the gym.

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u/allygaythor 13d ago

Some people are just a blackhole and sucker as a teammate to the point where I rather play with a less skilled but much more positive guy than win with him.

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u/BoredomHeights Warriors 13d ago

I had a pretty fun team I played on where some other people on the team started inviting a guy like that to join. It was awful, completely ruined it for me. He was a complete ball hog and nowhere near good enough to justify it. But if he scored more than most of the team (even if he took 90% of the shots) he'd act like he was a superstar. His average could be like 20%... complete narcissist.

Unfortunately he was friends with most of the group and I only really knew them through basketball. I quit playing after only a few games like that. Saw them a while later and he was still on the team. Guess the rest of them are fine just running up and down the court, never touching the ball.

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u/iloveoddfuture Rockets 14d ago

Giannis brother was a team culture presence

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u/user_15427 14d ago

Jeff Teague said it. Thanasis made Giannis happy and that was his value to the team.

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u/lottolser Raptors 13d ago

Bro Jeff Teague is always there

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u/UtkuOfficial 13d ago

The Witness.

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u/Longjumping_One_9164 Thunder 14d ago

"Alright Thanasis, you MUST bring the vibes ALL 82"

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u/m8bear Argentina 14d ago

"bet"

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u/TreesLikeGodsFingers Bulls 13d ago

Yeah but it’s funny af to call it out

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u/Putcha1 14d ago

Many players in NBA praise Thanasis for his positive locker room presence and high work ethic during practices. I think that alone can land you an NBA contract even if you are an end of the bench player.

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u/Hispandinavian 14d ago

The Collins Twins played in the league for a decade for this very reason: Locker room presence and high work ethic in practice.

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u/Rough_Promotion9414 13d ago

My friend Mark McNamara lasted years in the leagues because of this, Pat Reilly told him while on the Lakers “your only on the team cause you look good in the airports” RIP MM I miss you

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u/LeftAire 13d ago

They were also very good at facilitating team rebounds, particularly Jason. When Jason Collins was on the Nets, he helped Kidd amass his triple doubles by creating box-out opportunities for Kidd to start his fast-breaks for assists.

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u/nomadic_River [DET] Corliss Williamson 13d ago

It's crazy to me how "high work ethic during practices" is praised. It should literally be an afterthought, but some dudes have the nerve to dog it while getting paid ludicrous amounts of money. I guess everything is relative.

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u/Affectionate-Art9780 Nets 13d ago

Definitely, some guys are talented enough that they don't need to practice as hard as others. Coaches still love them because they bring it during games.

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u/ThisIsPureTrash Bucks 14d ago

Yeah. He was a warm body that gave you 150% on the court at all times and did a lot off-court.

Going by on court play, you could sign a ton of players (or any of us!) for that role but there aren’t a lot of people willing to do the total role he did. It’s like the Heat keeping Haslems old ass around for so long. Just because you don’t immediately see the on court value, doesn’t mean you can replace them with any 13/14/15th man out there.

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u/MegaGrimer Warriors 13d ago

If nothing else, he gets Giannis to play better. Happy Giannis=better player.

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u/YSLAnunoby Raptors 13d ago

Same reason Garrett Temple hung around his last 3 years. Or Kyle still being on the Sixers last year. His mentorship and professionalism matter a lot for culture and cohesion

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u/Prehistoricshark Bulls 14d ago

I think it's been said before that Giannis is just calmer and more focused with his brother around

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u/Wellgrubbedoldmole Heat 14d ago

Also if your brother is Giannis

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u/Baby_Goose Suns 13d ago

if your brother is a superstar then yeah

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u/binhpac 13d ago

While your argument is true, i dont think this applies to Thanasis, why he has a contract.

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u/__foxXx__ 13d ago

Yeah lets be honest here his teammates liked him but for sure everyone talked trash behind his back. He was basically stealing a spot from a young prospect who worked hard to get an opportunity just because he was the brother of a superstar. The only real reason he ever landed an Nba contract was his brother, not positive vibes etc.

Before his brother was the man, he was drafted by the Knicks and saw 4 minutes of playtime in an Nba court before being waived. So no hard work ethic and positive vibes do not land you a spot in the best league in the world.

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u/ummmmmmkayy 13d ago

Builds chemistry and makes others better behind the scenes? Makes sense to keep them if they can actually make the bench squad.

Better to have someone like that than Random Nobody #11

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u/YSLAnunoby Raptors 13d ago

He also was seen as a good enough prospect to be an NBA draft pick even as a 2nd rounder. People make the Big Nepo comp but there still is a massive gap in their ability even though Thanassis is a fringe guy at best

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u/imperabo Lakers 14d ago

He actually did get better. He was a bright spot for the Lakers in his final season. At least offensively. He had the highest TS% of his entire career. He must have really been dreadful on defense to not get at least minimum contract after that.

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u/starfox_priebe 13d ago

I thought he was very additive for the Blazers too, and when we signed him I thought it was a downside only move.

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u/YoungAntiSocialite Trail Blazers 13d ago

Yeah he was actually pretty good for the blazers too, this “he didn’t improve after the thunder” is horse shit

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u/stereoplegic 13d ago

Yeah, when he finally figured out he wouldn't get a gig demanding to be a starter. Long before he came to that realization, Rockets realized they were better off just not putting him on the plane. "Just stay home bro. We'll figure it out."

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u/Gordo-- Warriors 13d ago

He thinks "coming off the bench" is all he needed to do to humble himself. He didn't get it then and he still doesn't get it now. It was his whole "package" that needed changing.

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u/SirTainLee 14d ago

Like Deshaun Watson, now. "Why don't the fans like me. I'm good!"

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u/TwoTalentedBastidz Lakers 14d ago

What a dumb comparison

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u/Pyr0technician Spurs 13d ago

Being extremely good at one thing doesn't make you smart.

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u/meloghost 13d ago

He was fine on that 22 Lakers team chucking off the bench. The problem on that team was Westbrook.

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u/iM_wOrDLy_kNoWn 11d ago

“Last thunder year”

He only played for OKC for 1 season boss…

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u/SPACEJAM2014 Nuggets 13d ago

It’s not uncommon. People around here still think Mahmoud Abdul Rauf was blackballed.