One of the pure bucket getters the game has ever seen — whether he was winning an NCAA title, winning one of his three Olympic gold medals, or averaging 22.5 points a game in the NBA — there has been nobody like Carmelo Anthony.
Now he is deservingly going to be a first ballot Hall of Famer, which was expected but has been officially broken by Shams Charania of ESPN.
First ballot: Carmelo Anthony has been notified that he’s been elected into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2025, sources tell ESPN. Anthony made 10 All-Star appearances and six All-NBA teams in 19 seasons to go along with three Olympic gold medals for Team USA. pic.twitter.com/b079xHPqZB
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 2, 2025
Anthony averaged 22.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 2.7 assists over his 19-year career, which started with the Nuggets, moved on to the Knicks, and also included stops with the Thunder, Rockets, Trail Blazers, and Lakers. ‘Melo led the NBA in scoring in 2012-13, was a 10-time All-Star and six-time All-NBA player, ranks 12th on the league’s all-time points list, and was named to the NBA’s 75th Anniversary team.
Tributes poured in for Anthony, but the best one came from the Atlanta Hawks.
(For those that don’t remember, Anthony was traded from the Thunder to the Hawks in the summer of 2018, he was technically a member of the Atlanta franchise for five days before he was waived.)
The official announcement of the Neismith Basketbal Hall of Fame class of 2025 will come this weekend during the Final Four in San Antonio. Other locks to make the Hall of Fame out of this class include Sue Bird, Maya Moore, Dwight Howard, and the 2008 USA Basketball men’s Olympic team — which included both Anthony and Howard.
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