Carmelo Anthony has had something of a busy offseason. Between signing with the Los Angeles Lakers and for the first time acknowledging that the end of his career is rapidly approaching, the 37-year-old has taken a more introspective approach as of late.
Part of this has involved Anthony doing something of a media tour. During it, he has touched on everything from the real reason he left to the Portland Trail Blazers to the origin of his beef with former head coach Phil Jackson. It has been fascinating stuff – from start to finish.
It was more of the same this week.
During a recent appearance on Barstool Sports’ Million Dollaz Worth Of Game podcast, Anthony revealed the one bit of advice Michael Jordan gave him that completely altered the trajectory of his career.
“Say you average about 28, there’s an easy way to get it,” Anthony recounted. “He [Jordan] said, ‘break down 7 points a quarter. That’s 2-3 layups, 2-3 free throws. You get hot one quarter, you might have 11, 12, 13 (points) one quarter, now second quarter you can pace, you get your 14 (points) in two quarters.’ So, I’m like, ‘that’s crazy’ and I’m thinking about that in the games. So, next season I have almost 30 [points per game].”
Anthony is objectively one of the greatest scorers in NBA history, which is why the Lakers decided to take a chance on him in free agency this year. He fits an important need for them.
That said, Anthony has also been absolutely besieged by off-the-court dramatics over the past few months. Between his 14-year-old son allegedly getting extorted by his mistress and troubling leaked text messages, it has just been one thing after another.
Anthony is a veteran and theoretically knows how to separate off-the-court nonsense from on-the-court business. Hopefully he applies that skill to his time in LA this year and is able to secure his first career NBA title. Because if he doesn’t, he likely won’t get another crack at one.
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