Carmelo Anthony was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday night, receiving loud chants of “Melo! Melo!” as he took the stage.
“Pardon my language, but damn,” Anthony said, pausing to hold back tears. “Tonight I don’t just step into the Hall of Fame; I carry the echoes of every voice that ever told me I couldn’t. I had to build a new road. I had to write a new ending.”
One of the most prolific scorers of his generation, the Brooklyn-born forward addressed the only missing line on his résumé. “I never got an NBA ring,” he acknowledged. “But I know what I gave to the game.”
Anthony enters the Hall as part of a celebrated 2025 class that also includes Dwight Howard, Sue Bird, Maya Moore and Sylvia Fowles. Together, the group accounts for 11 NBA or WNBA championships, 15 Olympic gold medals, 37 All-NBA or All-WNBA selections and 45 All-Star appearances.
From neighborhood courts in Brooklyn and Baltimore to basketball’s highest honor, Anthony said the induction confirmed he belonged at every stop along the way.
Source: Hoops Wire
