Carmelo Anthony Biography Details, Age, Net Worth, & Basketball Career

Carmelo Anthony is an American pro basketball player who currently plays forward for the Portland Trail Blazers. He is considered a future Hall of Famer and one of the best pure scorers of his generation. Anthony is capable of scoring in a variety of ways and has been hailed as one of the best clutch players in the NBA. On the other hand, Anthony has never won an NBA title and been criticized for not winning enough during his pro career. However, Anthony won a national championship in his only college season at Syracuse University and has been a part of three Olympic teams that won a gold medal.

Anthony was born May 29, 1984, in Brooklyn and moved with his mother to Baltimore when he was eight years old. After a storied high school career, Anthony played one season of college basketball at Syracuse. He’s considered arguably the best one-and-done players in college basketball history, helping Syracuse win a national championship while averaging 22.2 points and 10 rebounds per game and winning Final Four Most Outstanding Player.

The Denver Nuggets selected Anthony 3rd overall in the 2003 NBA Draft. If he had not been in the same draft class as LeBron James, he likely would have been the first overall pick and the favorite for Rookie of the Year. He played with the Nuggets for seven-plus seasons before a 2011 trade to the New York Knicks, ultimately playing parts of seven seasons in New York. During that time, Anthony was an all-star 10 times and won the NBA scoring title in 2013. Anthony then had brief stints with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets before signing with the Portland Trail Blazers in November 2019.

Carmelo Anthony Basketball Career

Carmelo Anthony Net Worth, Salary, Endorsements & Career Earnings

Heading into the 2019-20 season, Carmelo Anthony has made in excess of $233 million from his salaries in the NBA. Starting with the 2013-14 season, Anthony made over $20 million per season for five straight seasons before taking a substantial pay cut to continue playing. Despite a reduction in his salary in recent years, Anthony has continued to make money via endorsements. Over the years, he has aligned himself with Nike, Jordan Brand, Foot Locker, IWC and Steiner Sports, and Nickelodeon, among many other brands.

Carmelo Anthony signed a four-year, $15 million deal with the Denver Nuggets in 2003.

Carmelo Anthony signed a five-year, $80 million deal with the Denver Nuggets in 2006.

Carmelo Anthony signed a three-year, $64.2 million deal with the Denver Nuggets in 2011.

Carmelo Anthony signed a five-year, $124.1 million deal with the New York Knicks in 2014.

Carmelo Anthony signed a one-year, $2.4 million deal with the Houston Rockets in 2018.

Carmelo Anthony signed a one-year, $2.16 million deal with the Portland Trail Blazers in 2019.

Carmelo Anthony Personal Life

Anthony was born in Brooklyn and spent the first eight years of his life living in the Red Hook housing projects. His father, Carmelo Iriarte, was Puerto Rican and passed away from cancer when Anthony was two years old. When he was eight, Anthony and his mother, Mary Anthony, moved to Baltimore. He grew up in a rough neighborhood and used sports as a distraction.

In 2004, Anthony became engaged to TV personality Alani Nicole “La La” Vázquez. La La gave birth to the couple’s son, Kiyan Carmelo Anthony in 2007. The couple married in 2010 and reunited in 2018 after a brief separation.

Awards & Achievements

Carmelo Anthony Quotes

• “From drugs to killings, to anything you can name that goes on in the roughest parts of town, we've seen and witnessed hands on. Those are the things that teach you toughness and keep you mentally focused on your goals.” -Kenny Minor, childhood friend
• “I think going to college for that one year was probably the best thing I have ever done.”
• “I believe that you should put the right people around you, people that will not let anything go wrong.”
• “I can't worry about what other people are saying about me. At the end of the day, it's just their opinions, but if I said I don't hear it, or it doesn't bother me a little bit, I'd be lying to you.”
• “When I step on that basketball court, I'm thinking about basketball, I'm thinking about winning - but there's so much that goes into thought about how I'm going to open this game up to others. It's so much more than just basketball.”

Carmelo Anthony Fun Facts

• During the 2003 NCAA Tournament, Carmelo Anthony played against his childhood friend Kenny Minor, who played for Manhattan, Syracuse’s opponent in the First Round of the tournament.
• Carmelo Anthony is the only player to appear on the cover of three different video game franchises: NCAA March Madness, NBA Live, and NBA Street.
• The practice facility at Syracuse University is called the Carmelo K. Anthony Center after Anthony donated $3 million to the school.
• Carmelo Anthony appeared in several episodes of the show Nurse Jackie.
• Carmelo Anthony made an appearance in the show Sons of Anarchy.
• The Melo line of shoes has had 13 different sneakers, the most of any athlete outside of LeBron James.
• Carmelo Anthony is a founder of the soccer team Puerto Rico FC, which plays in the NASL.