Carmelo Anthony: Goal To Win Third Gold Medal, NBA Championship
New York Knicks star and Team USA savior Carmelo Anthony has two goals: to win a third Olympic gold medal and to win an NBA championship.
Whether you love him, hate him, or feel indifferent, Carmelo Anthony has already punched his ticket to the Hall of Fame. He’s a six-time All-NBA honoree, nine-time All-Star, and two-time gold medalist who won the 2013 scoring title and the 2003 national championship.
With a third gold medal, Anthony would achieve Olympic history and a sense of achievement that would last him a lifetime.
Anthony has already achieved enough to earn him a place as an all-time great, but don’t confuse that with complacency. He’s just as hungry for a third gold medal as he was his first, which is the mark of a great player.
According to Marc Stein of ESPN, Anthony feels that a third gold medal would be the icing on the cake of a great career.
"“Most athletes don’t have an opportunity to say that they won a gold medal, better yet three gold medals,” Anthony said. “I would be very happy walking away from the game knowing that I’ve given the game everything I have, knowing I played on a high level at every level: high school, college, won [a championship at Syracuse] in college and possibly three gold medals.“I can look back on it when my career is over — if I don’t have an NBA championship ring — and say I had a great career.”"
That says if, not when.
Some have jumped the gun and evaluated those comments as a sign that Anthony doesn’t care if he wins an NBA title. A championship is his goal, regardless of the setting, and any other evaluation of his comments is one that ignores what he actually said.
For those who fear that Anthony doesn’t care about winning a championship, Anthony clarified exactly what he meant in that same interview.
"“Of course, because we play in the NBA that’s always the goal: to win an NBA championship,” Anthony said. “But every year [there’s] a new champion, so you have an opportunity to compete for a championship every year. This is every four years.”"
Let’s hope that major media outlets include that quote, rather than just providing misleading headlines.
New York Knicks team president Phil Jackson is a 13-time NBA champion who won two rings as a player and 11 as a head coach. The titles he won as a player were achieved as a member of this very organization.
As a man who was on the roster when the Knicks won the only two titles in franchise history, it’s hard to imagine Jackson employing a franchise player who doesn’t care about winning.
Furthermore, Anthony’s New York and Team USA teammates have unanimously commended his leadership. A common theme with those comments has been the praise for how poised and hungry Anthony is.
Thus, while his preliminary comments may have caused a commotion, he clarified his statement in that same interview.
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Anthony’s objective is to win a record third gold medal and an NBA title. Here’s hoping both goals come to fruition.