Carmelo Anthony, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, feels like he is playing for Team USA again now that he has joined a star-studded cast with the Oklahoma City Thunder. And make no mistake about it, the star forward never felt that way in his former home.
On Monday, Anthony was asked to elaborate on why he feels like he is playing for the US Olympic squad. You don’t need to be a psychoanalyst to know he was taking a swipe at the New York Knicks.
“Olympic Melo connotation comes into play [where] I’m surrounded by great players,” Carmelo said, via Marc Berman of the New York Post. “I try to get where the game is easier for myself, easier for everybody else. That’s where I can come in and not have to do too much and bring my game and help me blend with other guys.
“I’ve always been a product of my environment. Whatever environment wants from me, that’s what I give my environment. This environment is different, reminds me of being around Olympic teams, those great teams.”
Anthony was rarely surrounded by “great” players in New York, and that obviously took its toll on him. After the Knicks missed the playoffs for a fourth straight season, he admitted he wasn’t having as much fun playing basketball anymore.
“I’m like born again a little bit,” Carmelo said Monday. “I feel like I’m in college again. My second college campus being around in a city with a college feel. The energy and joy is back with the game of basketball. I can feel it when I wake up. That energy is different. I think you’ll see something special.”
You could argue that the Thunder have shown more commitment to winning in the past three months than the Knicks showed in three years, and Anthony knows that better than anyone. He also must love the reports he hears about the willingness of his new team to keep spending money. Even if he doesn’t come close to winning a championship, Carmelo is bound to enjoy his time in OKC far more than he did in NYC.
