Carmelo Anthony started his NBA career in Denver after being drafted third overall in the 2003 NBA draft after LeBron James and Darko Milicic. In Carmelo’s rookie season you could already see how talented he was as he averaged 21.0 PPG, made the NBA All-Rookie First Team, and was the NBA Rookie Challenge MVP. In Carmelo’s 8 seasons with the Denver Nuggets he was a great player, but the Denver Nuggets decided to trade him to the New York Knicks in exchange for several pieces.
Denver Nuggets traded New York Knicks traded
Carmelo Anthony Wilson Chandler
Chauncey Billups Raymond Felton
Shelden Williams Danilo Gallinari
Anthony Carter Timofey Mozgov
Renaldo Balkman Draft picks and cash
After Carmelo Anthony was traded he became the face of one of the biggest markets in the NBA, the New York Knicks. But did Carmelo’s change of scenery make him a better player or a worse player?
Anthony’s averages with Nuggets Anthony’s averages with Knicks
24.9 PPG 25.2 PPG
6.4 RPG 7.1 RPG
3.1 APG 3.3 APG
45.7 FG% 44.5 FG%
30.9 3FG% 37.0 3FG%
Looking at Carmelo Anthony’s per game averages for the Denver Nuggets and New York Knicks there is no arguing that Carmelo played better as a New York Knick. He averaged more points, rebounds, assists, and a much higher 3-point field goal percentage. But numbers do not show the whole truth, as they can be deceiving. Something else to look at is Anthony’s awards and achievements accomplished for each team.
Anthony’s accomplishments as a Nugget Anthony’s accomplishments as a Knick
4x NBA All-Star 5x NBA All-Star
All-NBA Second Team member All-NBA Second Team member
3x All-NBA Third Team member All-NBA Third Team member
NBA All-Rookie First Team member NBA Scoring Champion 7 NBA Playoff appearances 3 NBA Playoff appearances
NBA Rookie Challenge MVP
Besides the amount of times Carmelo has represented his teams in the All-Star game it is obvious that he found more success with the Denver Nuggets. Carmelo Anthony was and has been great for the Denver Nuggets and New York Knicks but it is hard to see which team he was better with. He was a better statistical player with the New York Knicks but he had more success with the Denver Nuggets. This argument is a Wilt Chamberlin versus Bill Russell argument. Which is more important to you, statistics or success?
