Former Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony gets closer to Hall of Fame

Controversial former Denver Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony was among the 12 players, coaches and builders named as eligible candidates for a 2025 induction into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on Thursday.

Anthony was Nominated alongside Gasol were fellow NBA players Marc Gasol and Dwight Howard; WNBA stars Sue Bird, Maya Moore, Sylvia Fowles and Chamique Holdsclaw; coaches Doc Rivers, Billy Donovan, Mark Few and Lisa Bluder; and builder Mickey Arison.

“Blessed to be named among such incredible players,” Anthony wrote on social media. “My love for basketball is forever. I will always be grateful for this game, and the communities that stood by me as I chased my dreams. To my family, friends, fans, teammates, and coaches — THANK YOU. #STAYME7O”

Blessed to be named among such incredible players. 🙏🏾

My love for basketball is forever. I will always be grateful for this game, and the communities that stood by me as I chased my dreams.

To my family, friends, fans, teammates, and coaches — THANK YOU. #STAYME7O https://t.co/ucgnmW7lG9

— Carmelo Anthony (@carmeloanthony) December 19, 2024

Anthony is one of the greatest players in Team USA history, a legendary NBA player whose highlights were split between Denver and New York as well as a champion in college. Anthony averaged more than 20 points per game in all of his 7.5 seasons with the Nuggets and made the All-Star Game four times. Denver was just 17-65 the year before they drafted him and made the playoffs every season during his tenure. Unfortunately, Anthony and the first round of the postseason didn’t get along. He lost in Round 1 five straight years to start his career and six of the seven years he was in Denver. The team went on a magical run to the Western Conference Finals in 2009, but that was after Chauncey Billups and his leadership and experience were brought to town.

Anthony eventually grew unhappy and demanded out of Denver, which he now disputes. After a long saga, that wish was granted in Feb. 2011 when Anthony was moved to the New York Knicks. Sent out with Chauncey Billups, Shelden Williams, Anthony Carter and Renaldo Balkman, the Nuggets got a big package back. It was Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallinari, Timofey Mozgov, the Knicks 2014 first-round draft pick, the Warriors’ 2012 second-round pick (obtained from previous trade,) the Warriors’ 2013 second-round pick (obtained from previous trade and $3 million in cash. Denver used one of those picks to select Jamal Murray.

Anthony is still a complicated figure in Nuggets history. He helped put the franchise back on the map after a dreadful eight-year stretch in the late 1990s and early 2000s. But he also torpedoed his way out of Denver when it felt like the Nuggets could achieve something special. He never reached an NBA Finals elsewhere. Since leaving Denver, he has talked ill of the Nuggets a bunch and has again brought up the controversy of his No. 15 not only not being retired in Denver but being worn by Nikola Jokic. The things Melo has done in the past few years have only further strained his relationship with fans in Denver. Even his retirement from the game seemed to undercut the Nuggets as he announced it the same day Denver clinched its first-ever trip to the NBA Finals thanks to a sweep of the Lakers—something Anthony never did.

Anthony will get into the Hall of Fame eventually, how the Nuggets and Denver fans treat that news will be fascinating.