H.O.F. Watch – Carmelo Anthony
Photo courtesy of Jordan BrandEvery day for the next few weeks we’re gonna take one active NBA star with at least arguable Hall of Fame credentials and break down his chances of getting into the Springfield, Mass., hoops mecca. We’re looking at not just past accomplishments, but also how a player’s career realistically projects for the future. For a full explanation of the process, click here. Today’s candidate: Carmelo Anthony.
CARMELO ANTHONY (5th year, Nuggets)
24.1 pts, 5.7 rebs, 2.9 asts, 1.1 stls per game
Why: He made dominating college basketball look like light work, putting together one of the best freshman seasons in NCAA history at Syracuse (including a national title), and has since gone on to become one of the premier scorers in the world at just 23 years old. Internationally, ‘Melo is up for a gold medal at the ‘08 Olympics, where if form holds, he’ll be the leading scorer on the U.S. national squad. As long as he’s playing, ‘Melo will probably be a contender for the NBA’s single-season scoring crown (he finished 2nd to Kobe last year) and an All-Star staple. If he keeps up his current pace of 1,900-2,000 points per season for the next decade or so, he’ll break 20,000 points easily. Carmelo is getting early playoff experience and the current version of the Nuggets has enough talent to eventually make a serious title run, but he plays in a loaded conference. The way things are stacking up, everything seems in place for Anthony to be this generation’s Dominique Wilkins — putting up crazy numbers and tons of highlights, but falling just short of getting those championship rings.
Why not: His scoring numbers are gonna be there when he retires, but what about rebounding, passing and defense? While he could very well be the next ‘Nique, given the uniform ‘Melo currently wears, the easier comparison is to Alex English, a single-minded scorer like ‘Melo who had a nine-year run from ’80-89 where he dropped 20,515 points. English was in fact the NBA’s leading scorer in the 1980s; that got him into the Hall despite never seeing significant playoff success. Can ‘Melo match that?
Our call: IN
The H.O.F. Watch archive
10/25 – Vince Carter
10/24 – Penny Hardaway
10/23 – Alonzo Mourning
10/22 – Allen Iverson
10/19 – Dwyane Wade
10/18 – Chauncey Billups
10/17 – Stephon Marbury
10/16 – Jason Kidd
10/15 – Shawn Marion
10/12 – Ray Allen
10/11 – Chris Bosh
10/10 – Chris Webber
10/9 – Paul Pierce
10/5 – Jermaine O’Neal
10/4 – Gary Payton
10/3 – Tracy McGrady
October 26th, 2007 at 11:12 am
Myrie in NY says:
A lot to early to have ‘Melo in HOF talks. Dude can get you buckets, but not much else. I voted for him as ROY back in ‘04. Had better stats than Bron and his team made the playoffs; he was even hitting game winners as a rook. But Hall? Not yet. I don’t think so.
My man needs to settle down a bit. Tone his aggressions. Can’t be sucker punching cats and expect to get into the Hall. Out…but only for now.
October 26th, 2007 at 11:13 am
M Intellect says:
He’ll be in. Not only as a scorer, he can rebound as well and has that rare ability of actually being Kobe-esque cool when the game is on the line.
I see him icing a few series in the next few years.
Assasin Anthony
October 26th, 2007 at 11:15 am
Aaron says:
TOO EARLY!!
October 26th, 2007 at 11:23 am
Duke says:
The only way I see him getting in is if he suckered punch every single voter and ran away threatening to do it again. Unless he wins 2 rings or more, I don’t see him getting in. And it’s way to early.
October 26th, 2007 at 11:33 am
Myrie in NY says:
How much weight do you all put on rings/chips to get into the Hall?
Many greats don’t have a ring.
And every year, some 12th man bum gets one (or his 2nd or 3rd).
October 26th, 2007 at 11:40 am
fiyaman says:
I think he will have HOF career but now its way too early..
October 26th, 2007 at 11:48 am
Andy Buckets says:
Duke,
Come on man…him sucker punching Mardy Collins has nothing to do with the Hall. MANY NBA players have thrown sucker punches before Melo’ don’t hold that against him. While it is still early, I’d say by the end of his career Melo is in EASY.
October 26th, 2007 at 11:54 am
Gee says:
As he goes down the road and matures and hopefully gets a ring and continues to do well I will say In.
I am sure it’s all going to be about his fights, dvd with drug dealers, pouting in the olympics, married to Lala and other things that people bring up now besides his playing to say he is out. LOL that just cracks me up.
Gosh I hope Melo’ never did anything to the Toronto Raptors you know how people hate for you to F*%^ that team over.
LOL it’s like if you have had any bad dealings with Toronto around here you are automatically out LMAO. Hilarious.
I am going to say IN if Melo doesn’t mess anything up, or if anything messed up doesn’t happen to him.
October 26th, 2007 at 11:58 am
Dre in O Town says:
I don’t why he would even be on watch. Just because you can score doesn’t mean anything. Any player can go off on any given night and even if they are consistent like Melo it doesn’t make a difference. The only thing that kid has besides a decent shot is a wicked first step off the dribble, and that too sadly doesn’t merit a HOF entry.
October 26th, 2007 at 12:31 pm
Mike says:
You have to remember that this upcoming season is just his 5th season.. Which means he still hasn’t hit his prime yet and still has a lot of room to improve upon. If he can up his game some more and maintain it for the next 7-8 years, there’s no question that he’d be a hall of famer. He is just as unstoppabe as Kobe when his jumper is on.. Although I don’t know if he’ll ever get the recognition he deserves, as long as he’s on the Nuggets..
October 26th, 2007 at 12:44 pm
jay says:
barrring injury..he is on his way but way early …it is 07-08 season and he was a rook in 03-04….yeah he has the makings of a HOF..look at the damage he did in the usa games..would like to see him and ai do some playoff damage this year though! id say he is headin to IN!!
October 26th, 2007 at 12:54 pm
Celts Fan says:
To those of you that say he sucker=punched Mardy Collins, come on now. Go re-watch the clip. Those 2 were jawing and Melo swung. There was no “sucker” part about it (and really no “punch” it was more of a bitch slap that would have been much better with a “I’m Carmelo BITCH!” right after it) Now after that slap, he did definitely back-pedal like a bitch. Damn stop snitching, but start fighting if you’re gonna throw the first “punch.”
My call (assuming the #s stay the same): IN
October 26th, 2007 at 1:21 pm
Duke says:
He’s just a scorer to me, nothing impressive about that.
October 26th, 2007 at 1:39 pm
Kobeef says:
People are forgetting about his College Career….the HOF is not the NBA HOF remember – it includes all basketball.
From an NCAA perspective – there are few – if any peers to Melo’s One-and-done-it-right season with Syracuse. I am not much of an historian so correct me if I am wrong but he may be the only Freshman to lead his team to its first national championship and won freshman of the year.
As far as pro career is concerned his Rookie year is second to few – overshadowed by lebron who is a once every 20 years or so kind of freak.
October 26th, 2007 at 1:57 pm
smity says:
he has the heart, passion, skills and type of aura about him that draws people to him in support of him. Like dime has suggested the way things are going and should continue to go, he should be in the hall one day…as long as he doesnt put his lasting image into jeopardy. (he hasnt been injured that badly yet so i hope he continues to have good fortune.) why is he shaping up to be a player similar to nique though? Melo has clearly dsitinguished himself as a monster on the international scene while on a team full of stars. Are you all saying that in comparison nique would have dominated in the same way while positioned on a team of his star peers? also if melo is shaping up to be the nique of his generation, are we saying that _______ is shaping up to be the mj?
I should start calling fridays “easy pick fridays” cause thats what seems to be a developing trend here for dime’s HOF watch…( i guess with the exception of o’neal)
October 26th, 2007 at 1:59 pm
smity says:
good point, he should get heavy consideration based on his syracuse career alone
October 26th, 2007 at 2:18 pm
djKianoosh says:
If we are nitpicking on his game, I say he needs to take it to the rack much stronger much more often. If he does that and improves his boards (he should be devastating on the offensive boards, period), I think he can win in Denver, and that will surely get him into the hall, cause only so many guys win as the top dog in both college and pros. yes it’s early now, but i think the point is, given a certain career trajectory, by the end of it all he should be in. he’s well on his way with a good start at ‘cuse and a good early career.
October 26th, 2007 at 2:20 pm
Captain America says:
My impression is that Melo has matured a great deal the past two seasons. His game is rock-solid. His involvement with the USA team and the competition against other USA team members in practice will take him even further. Projection: A solid HOF candidate.
October 26th, 2007 at 2:22 pm
Chaos says:
Normally i would say too early, but you can’t overlook his progression in the last 4 seasons. excellent freshman year at syracuse, great rookie year, down 2nd yr but he came back after that year with a vengeance. you could tell he came back lighter but stronger with a more polished offensive game. he is very underrated as a rebounder. He has marcus camby, kenyon martin (when healthy), nene, najera (garbage man), and had reggie evans under the rim to clean the glass. when 1 or 2 of those guys were out, he would hgit the glass. got a sweet jumper, deadly first step to get to the whole and strong enough to finish, can play the post (too big for smaller guys, too quick for bigger guys), and not afraid to take the last shot. the negative things that really standout are his defense which could be worked, sharing the ball and how he gets flustered playing against defensive stoppers i.e. bowen, quinton ross, prince). he has to keep his composure when playing those guys. he keeps playing consistently into his prime, plus an mvp trophy, he is definitely IN…..plus he bitch slapped the hell outta collins, he just shouldnt have backed up
October 26th, 2007 at 2:50 pm
naphi says:
Come on Dime, quit posting players that have premature careers already! if melo replicates his previous seasons he’s in for his abilities as well as his popularity. but seriously post some real questioned H.O.Fer’s, like: Mutumbo, Redd, Horry, or even Bowen and Big Ben would be better.
October 26th, 2007 at 3:42 pm
Austin Burton says:
They’re coming soon enough.
October 26th, 2007 at 5:09 pm
Tom Toronto says:
Who keeps saying Melo sucker punched a guy? That was more like a sucker-sissy-slap or something. Then after that he was doing the Damon Dash down the court. IN for the basketball hall of fame, OUT for the boxing hall of fame.
October 26th, 2007 at 5:15 pm
Tom Toronto says:
Oh and to Gee, nah Melo is cool in Toronto, no bad dealings to speak of. Probably why there’s not 55 comments on this section like yesterday, FUVC!
October 26th, 2007 at 5:46 pm
Triple Threat says:
A couple more years will decide Melo’s soon to be HOF career.
October 26th, 2007 at 5:57 pm
Triple Threat says:
Gee, I ain’t hatin on Vince for leaving Toronto, but for the way he handle it. Him and T-mac must be cousins because when shit hits the fan they bounce. They blame it on everything and everyone but themselves.
October 26th, 2007 at 6:32 pm
K-Dizzle says:
LOL what Tom and Threat said…and you know those two are related. I heard the Rockets were shoppin T-Mac for Kobe and the Lakers weren’t havin it.
Anyways, on to Carmelo, everything being equal and he keeps gettin deeper into the playoffs, stays healthy and keeps roundin out his game, he’s more likely than not…but it’s too soon. He did his thing in college, he’s been money internationally, he should have been co-rookie of the year with Lebron and we can’t put any weight on all star appearances cuz the West is so stacked, somebody gets screwed every single year. Carmelo is in my top 3 in the league for players with no offensive weaknesses. Like most are sayin tho, he’s gotta round out his total game and he’s gotta take that team somewhere….and he gotta do it for 7-10 more years.
I’m out like Vince’s heart
October 26th, 2007 at 7:43 pm
Sacto J says:
How could you even begin to speculate when there is hardly a body of work to judge from. The resounding answer I’m seeing here is “maybe.” No shit? Maybe? I Wonder why the opinions are so vague, maybe cuz he hasn’t done nothing but score so far. Lebron is a little easier to speculate on, but Melo hasn’t carried his team to the finals. Sure he’s dangerous, but so was Steve Kerr (to a point…)
Goofy.
October 26th, 2007 at 10:03 pm
AY says:
Is there anyone who takes the dimemag’s evaluation serious at this point? I mean, melo gets in but cwebb is out? If we’re just talking about projections, lets put brandon roy and bargnani into the hall already. Look at the guys who don’t get in without a championship: bernard king, mitch richmond, tom chambers, artis gilmore. The bottomline is, championships matters more than anything else, and you have to have one.
October 26th, 2007 at 10:05 pm
Amar says:
stop snitching
October 27th, 2007 at 12:12 am
Triple Threat says:
HAHAHAHA, I had to think for minute, by yeah I hear ya Amar.
October 27th, 2007 at 8:49 am
doc says:
hes to young
October 27th, 2007 at 2:27 pm
Jay says:
The way you guys are projecting isn’t reasonable. Had the discussion come up for Penny Hardaway going into his 4th season, he’d definitely be “IN” as well… but we all know how that career turned out. It’s way too early to even begin a discussion for Melo, Wade, Bosh, and, inevitably I know you’re gonna do it, LeBron.
October 28th, 2007 at 7:59 pm
Gee says:
Aye Dime please do “Skip to my Lou” I want to read some more rants by the Toronto fans. I will say this Toronto, you all are very passionate about yours and that’s pretty cool. The rants are hilarious though, cause y’all be going OFF lol! To funny. I hate to see the next player who burns that team, you guys might riot or put a hit out on dude lol.
T-Mac is in…wait this is Vince yea he in too…wait, my bad sorry… Melo you probably gone get in, just please don’t f-up.
November 6th, 2007 at 8:16 pm
David says:
How can you give Melo the nod and not Dirk?
November 12th, 2007 at 6:37 pm
TBone says:
Maybe all the people who are saying TOO EARLY need a little lesson in READING.
The criteria clearly states that this is not about RIGHT NOW. This is about if said player continues on their current path, will they be HOF worthy?
I know it’s kinda hard to understand.
MELO = IN
PERIOD
January 3rd, 2008 at 4:23 pm
matthew says:
Carmelo attended Kenyon Martin’s birthday bash in South Beach on Near Year’s…. You can see the pics at http://www.capazoo.com/kmart30bday …