Apr 5, 2022; Phoenix, Arizona, USA: Los Angeles Lakers forward Carmelo Anthony (7) against the Phoenix Suns at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Carmelo Anthony Makes Shocking Claim About Lone Season With Lakers

Originally posted on Los Angeles Lakers on SI
By Alex Kirschenbaum | Last updated Sep 24, 2025 2:00 PM ET

One-time Los Angeles Lakers reserve forward Carmelo Anthony has issued a surprise statement about his lone year in Tinseltown.

The 6-foot-7 Syracuse product, who made the Hall of Fame as a first-ballot honoree this summer, numbered among the many, many past-their-prime vets team president Rob Pelinka brought aboard in a doomed effort to fit some cheap pieces around All-Stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis, plus declining former All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook.

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Anthony had an intriguing take on one of his most analytically sound seasons, far past his prime — his 19th and final pro year, as a sharpshooting bench forward with the 2021-22 Los Angeles Lakers.

Carmelo Anthony on his best year in the NBA (h/t AnthonyCOfficial/IG)

"My best year I ever had was with the Lakers...if you look at analytics, the Lakers year was one of my best years." pic.twitter.com/DgmnRa0RR3
— CTRL the Narrative (@ctrlnarrative) September 20, 2025

“My best year I ever had was with the Lakers," Anthony claimed, adding, "If you look at analytics, the Lakers year was one of my best years.”

Anthony was one of the few veteran free agents that the Lakers signed who actually outkicked their coverage during that ill-fated season, as the highlights below can attest.

4 minutes, 13 seconds of Carmelo Anthony’s best Lakers moments#MeloMondays pic.twitter.com/TS1D55w3po
— CTRL the Narrative (@ctrlnarrative) September 22, 2025

The 10-time All-Star suited up for 69 healthy contests with the 33-49 Lakers that season (starting in three). He averaged 13.3 points on .441/.375/.830 shooting splits, 4.2 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.8 blocks and 0.7 steals in 26.0 minutes per.

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Following bumpy journeyman stints with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets, Anthony by the time he joined Los Angeles had fully embraced his sixth man jump shooting option role. He finished seventh in Sixth Man of the Year voting the previous season, on a much better Portland Trail Blazers squad.

After he failed to find any fits he liked as a free agent the following summer, Anthony eventually called it a career.

Carmelo Anthony's Storied Career

He had enjoyed his best seasons with the Denver Nuggets and New York Knicks, during which time he had made six All-NBA teams and finished as high as third in MVP voting (in 2012-13 with New York).

The Lakers played into Anthony's biggest playoff moment, too. They were the team that stopped his 2009 Nuggets from advancing to the NBA Finals, en route to securing Kobe Bryant his first post-Shaquille O'Neal title against another future 2021-22 Lakers vet, 2025 Hall of Famer Dwight Howard.