112. Carmelo Anthony
Few young modern day players have made the list this high. Mostly because their career accomplishments are still low. But Carmelo Anthony does crack the top 120 list and will likely be much higher when his career ends.
Anthony only played one year of college ball at Syracuse but it was a highly effective year. He averaged 22 points and 10 rebounds and lead the Orangemen all the way to the NCAA title in 2003.
He entered the NBA draft and was selected 3rd overall behind friend Lebron James, Darko Millicic, and ahead of Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. Anthony made an immediate impact on a Nuggets team that hadn’t gone anywhere in years. In his rookie season the Nuggets made the playoffs for the first time since 1994 and had their first plus 500 season since 1993. Anthony averaged 21 points a game and was named to the all-rookie team. |  |
Anthony followed his rookie campaign with a solid sophomore season. He was named a member of the rookie sophomore team and lead the second year players with 31 points and was named game MVP in front of his home town fans as the game was held in Denver that season. Anthony finished the season with another 21 point average and another first round playoff loss.
His third year his points jumped to 26 a game, yet he was not named an all-star. Anthony did not become an all-star until he was selected as a replacement in 2006-07. Since than he was made two other all-star teams but looks to be on a lot more in the future.
Controversy struck during a game with the Knicks where Anthony punched a Knicks player than ran away. The league suspended Anthony 15 games for his action. The suspension coupled with injures caused the Nuggets to struggle a lot and nearly miss the playoffs.
After several seasons of mediocrity and first round playoff exit’s the Nuggets finally won a season in 2009 when they defeated the Hornets in 5 games. They than defeated the Mavs in 5 games and eventually lost to the Lakers. This made the Nuggets become a fan favorite around the NBA and they looked like they could challenge for a title. Fate would be against the Nuggets in the 2010 playoffs as they lost handily to arch-rival Utah in the first round.
Another has become a fixture on the USA Men’s national team. He’s played on two Olympic teams, the Tournament of American’s team and the World Championship team. He has been one of the teams most consistent and dominate players in his four international appearances. His four international appearances ties him with Lebron James and Dwayne Wade as most in American history. The team has seen highs and lows. They won Gold in 2008 during the Beijing and in 2007 during the Las Vegas Tournament of the American’s but have suffered embarrassing losses in 2004 in Athens and 2006 in Japan. Anthony will not be a member of the 2010 team in Turkey but intends to play in the 2012 Olympics in London.
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