Today, LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony are known as two of the best basketball players alive and two of the greatest to ever enter the NBA.
After years of competing against each other, they actually played together last season after Anthony joined James with the Los Angeles Lakers.
It was an incredible sight to see: two stars who got drafted in the same year and have stayed strong for years finally playing back to back on the court.
"If we do get Melo, when was Bron gone ever take over?"
Chauncey Billups on what could have been if the Pistons drafted Carmelo Anthony in 2003 👀
(via @shobasketball)pic.twitter.com/Rq9ixeu3XF
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) September 21, 2022
Anthony has always been slightly overshadowed by James – that’s what happens when you’re competing against someone thought of as one of the best players ever.
Former NBA player Chauncey Billups gave some thought to both players and their start in the league so many years ago.
Billups was playing for the Detroit Pistons when both James and Anthony were drafted.
The Pistons missed out on both players, with James going to the Cleveland Cavaliers and Anthony going to the Denver Nuggets.
Billups wondered what would have happened if Detroit got Anthony: “If we do get Melo, when was Bron gone ever take over?”
He pondered if Anthony would have been considered the GOAT instead of James had he played for the Pistons at the start of his career.
Anthony After The Draft
Anthony did quite well for himself even though he wasn’t Rookie of the Year and has yet to win a championship.
He was the star of the Nuggets and then moved onto a successful run with the New York Knicks before traveling to the Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, Portland Trail Blazers, and finally the Lakers.
We will never know what he would have achieved playing for the Pistons but he has still had a very good career.
NEXT: Fans Are Excited To See The Pelicans Finally Come Together