DENVER — Longtime Denver Nugget Carmelo Anthony announced his retirement Monday from the NBA after 19 seasons, saying in a social media video that “the time has come for me to say goodbye.”
Anthony was drafted third overall in the 2003 NBA Draft by the Nuggets. Anthony played parts of eight seasons in Denver before being traded to the New York Knicks in 2011. He also played for the Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Lakers.
Anthony, who will turn 39 this week, leaves the NBA as the league’s ninth all-time leading scorer.
“I remember the days when I had nothing, just a ball on the court and a dream of something more,” Anthony said. “But basketball was my outlet. My purpose was strong, my communities, the cities I represented with pride. The fans that supported me along the way. I am forever grateful for people and places because they made me Carmelo Anthony.”
“But now the time has come for me to say goodbye. To the court where I made my name, to the game that gave me purpose and pride. But this bittersweet goodbye to the NBA. I am excited about what the future holds for me.”
Anthony had 10 All-Star appearances and scored 28,289 points over parts of 19 seasons. Anthony did not play in the NBA this season.
Anthony ends his playing days after being selected as one of the 75 greatest players in NBA history, a 10-time All-Star, a past scoring champion and a six-time All-NBA selection.
And while he never got to the NBA Finals — he only played in the conference finals once, with Denver against the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers in 2009 — Anthony also knew what it was like to be a champion.
He was the Most Outstanding Player of the 2003 Final Four when he led Syracuse to the national championship, and he helped USA Basketball win Olympic gold three times — at Beijing in 2008, at London in 2012 and at Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
He has played in 31 games in four appearances at the Olympics, the most of any U.S. men’s player ever. Anthony’s 37 points against Nigeria in the 2012 games is a USA Basketball men’s record at an Olympics, as are his 10 3-pointers from that game and his 13-for-13 effort from the foul line against Argentina in 2008.
He will remain part of international basketball for at least a few more months; Anthony is one of the ambassadors to the Basketball World Cup, FIBA’s biggest event, which will be held this summer in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia.
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