With the growing salaries and popularity of NBA stars, it should come as no surprise that Carmelo Anthony is one of the top earners in league history and has an incredible net worth to prove it.
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One of the best scorers and professional basketball players in recent National Basketball Association history, Anthony has made hundreds of millions of dollars for his play, as well as millions more in endorsements to build an incredible bank account.
Early Life and College Years
Carmelo Anthony as a freshman at Syracuse
Melo was a one man wrecking crew all season🔥🔥pic.twitter.com/oLBWYYmSYO
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) February 9, 2020
Born in Red Hook, New York, Carmelo Kyam Anthony went to Towson Catholic High School and Oak Hill Academy, but moved back to his home state to play college basketball, choosing to attend Syracuse University. In his one year with the Orange, he led the team to 30 wins and the program's only national championship.
During his freshman season, he averaged 22.2 points and 10 rebounds per game, was named a consensus second-team All-American, and earned the NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player award.
Anthony was one of the top young talents in the country entering the 2003 NBA Draft, and was part of one of the most talented group of prospects in basketball history. The Cleveland Cavaliers took LeBron James with the first overall pick, and the Detroit Pistons picked Darko Mili?i? with the second pick. The Denver Nuggets used their third overall pick on Anthony.
NBA Career
Rookie Carmelo Anthony torching the Lakers for 35 PTS. (2004) pic.twitter.com/U9WGLnpQWc
— ThrowbackHoops (@ThrowbackHoops) October 22, 2019
It took no time at all for Anthony to find his groove as a scorer in the NBA, averaging 21 points per game as a rookie and earning a spot on the NBA's All-Rookie team.
In his seven and a half seasons with the Nuggets, Anthony averaged 24.8 points and 6.3 rebounds to earn four appearances in the NBA All-Star game. In February of 2011, he was traded to the New York Knicks. After finishing his eighth season in New York City, he would play another six seasons for the Knicks.
'Melo would be named an All-Star in every season as a Knick and also won a scoring title in 2013 at 28.7 points per game. Before the start of the 2017-18 season, Anthony was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder where he spent that season. Less than a year later, he was dealt to the Atlanta Hawks, who would then waive him less than a week later.
Two weeks after being waived, Carmelo signed with the Houston Rockets, but would play in only 10 games before being traded in January to the Chicago Bulls and again being waived. He wouldn't be picked up before the end of the season or even during the following offseason as a free agent. After a rough start filled with injuries for the Portland Trailblazers, Anthony got another shot in the NBA about a month into the season.
During his long and extremely successful career, Anthony is averaging 23.7 points and 6.5 rebounds. His career scoring average ranks as the 21st-highest in league history. He has also been selected to the All-NBA Second Team twice and the third team three times.
This biggest knock against Anthony throughout his career has been his lack of playoff success. In 11 playoff appearances, he has made it out of the first round just twice, though he averages 24.5 points and five rebounds in 72 career postseason games.
Olympic Legacy
(2007) Carmelo Anthony with the ridiculous poster during the Olympics
Man do I miss this Melo🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/QXCxJscBjz
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) September 3, 2019
As good as he has been as an NBA player, nothing can top his career as a member of the United States Men's Basketball team. Anthony has been a member of the national team in four separate Olympic games, one of multiple team USA records he holds.
In his first year as a member of the national team in the Olympics, Anthony and the team finished with a bronze medal, but in the following three Olympics since then, he helped win three consecutive gold medals. He is the only player for USA Men's Basketball to win three Gold medals.
Since he has more appearances on the Olympic team than any other player, it has helped him move up the leaderboards for individual stats as well. During the 2016 Olympics, Anthony became the all-time leader in scoring, rebounding, and games played on top of his other accomplishments.
Carmelo Anthony Net Worth
Carmelo Anthony has finalized his contract buyout with the Hawks, giving back $2.4 million of his $27.9 million salary, league sources tell @wojespn. pic.twitter.com/UeBGeJjCNc
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 30, 2018
Anthony has made tons of money throughout his professional basketball career thanks to the longevity and success he has had as well as being one of the most recognizable athletes in the world.
Up to this point, Anthony has made about $249 million just from his contracts with the Nuggets, Knicks, Thunder, Rockets, and Trail Blazers. Yes, this amount is absolutely insane. For career earnings, he is now sixth all-time in league history trailing just Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Shaquille O'Neil, Chris Paul, and Dirk Nowitzki.
With his NBA salary earnings combined with endorsements with the Nike brand Jordan, Carmelo Anthony's net worth is an estimated around $160 million.
