Carmelo Anthony is still chasing an NBA Championship as he enters the twilight of his playing career (now with his fourth team in five seasons), but to this very day, he still ponders the “what if” scenario of the Pistons taking him at #2 overall instead of Darko Milicic. Why does he still think about the 2003 NBA Draft? According to Melo, who was recently on the “All The Smoke” podcast, said the Pistons PROMISED him that they would take him at #2:
Melo was ???????? to be drafted by the Pistons ?
He believes that decision changed the course of his career. #ATS100 | @carmeloanthony pic.twitter.com/vof21kguTH
— SHOWTIME Basketball (@shobasketball) August 17, 2021
“I think if I was there, they win another (title). I wouldn’t jump out there and say we three-peat. I think we’d go back-to-back if I’m there. … They were all vets, I would have learned from those guys. And that second year coming back, I would have been a totally different player coming back.”
Anthony ended up being drafted a pick later at #3 overall by the Denver Nuggets in 2003, and he recently signed on to join the Los Angeles Lakers this upcoming season with LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and company as he continues to chase down that elusive first ring.
Click here to read more about what Anthony had to say about the Pistons deciding not to draft him in 2003.
