Cole Anthony may be the NBA’s new Matthew Dellavedova.
The Orlando Magic guard Anthony came under fire during Thursday’s game vs. the Portland Trail Blazers for his latest dive at the legs of an opponent. Anthony was going for a loose ball that traveled into the backcourt in the third quarter and ended up taking out Blazers forward Toumani Camara with his dive.
While Anthony was whistled for a foul on the play and Camara was able to walk away unscathed, the Blazers broadcasters still tore into Anthony over the dangerous play. They noted that Anthony was also involved in a similar incident last month against Detroit with Pistons guard Jaden Ivey.
The Blazers' broadcast team wasn't happy with Cole Anthony going through Toumani Camara's legs for a loose ball.
"That's the second time. And if you remember, Jaden Ivey got hurt on the exact same play. It ended his season. And Cole Anthony was involved."pic.twitter.com/ByVCDwcJBT
— Hot Hand Theory (@HotHandTheory) January 31, 2025
For context, Ivey suffered a broken left fibula when Anthony dove into him during the Magic-Pistons game on Jan. 1 (video here). Though Anthony was visibly distraught and apologetic after the play, it now appears that a pattern may be developing.
During a different sequence in Thursday’s game against Portland, Anthony took out the legs of another Blazers player, Shaedon Sharpe, while fighting for a rebound. Anthony was whistled for a foul on that play as well.
Something needs to be done about Cole Anthony…
Ended Jaden Ivey’s season doing this and continues to do it on a nightly basis with no regard for anyone else on the court. Absolute weirdo stuff. pic.twitter.com/tiT2MNnMVX
— nick (@nick__xo) January 31, 2025
The 24-year-old Anthony is a former first-round pick by the Magic (No. 15 overall) who has seen extended minutes lately in the injury absence of his fellow guard Jalen Suggs (back, quad). A career 12.6-point-per-game scorer, Anthony was mostly known for his gross incident at All-Star Weekend a few years ago but now appears to be developing another untoward reputation.
