Carmelo Anthony’s Ex-Coach Reveals Harsh Truth On Early Struggles In Denver

In his lone season at Syracuse in 2003, he was a consensus Second-Team All-American, USBWA National Freshman of the Year, the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player, and won the National Title.

Under legendary head coach Jim Boeheim, Anthony averaged 22.2 points and 10 rebounds per game on 45.3 percent shooting, while becoming one of the most highly-touted prospects to enter the NBA Draft.

Boeheim Defends Anthony

In Carmelo Anthony's time in Denver, from being selected third overall in a legendary draft class that included LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh, to becoming the face of the franchise, he faced plenty of tough foes in his early years in Denver.

In an interview with SportsKeeda, Boeheim defended Anthony's struggles in the playoffs in his time in Denver.

"You often defended Melo throughout his NBA career when he got criticized in Denver and New York. How George Karl and Phil Jackson’s criticisms about Melo land with you? Boeheim: “Well, the thing I think about the NBA is that he made every team that he was on better than they were. Whether it was Denver or the Knicks, he made them better. They had to go up against the Lakers and the Spurs in Denver. They couldn’t do it, but he made the team better," Boeheim said.

"That’s all you can do sometimes as players. You can’t make a team a championship team by yourself. You have to have a lot of parts to it. His time in Denver, there were some great teams with the Lakers and the Spurs. He made them better, and that’s all you can do as a player.”

The Nuggets Couldn't Get Over the Hump

Anthony was one of the NBA's best players from 2003 to 2011 in Denver, averaging 24.8 points and 6.3 rebounds per game in that span.

In the playoffs, he was just as good, averaging 24.5 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, but could not get over the hump in the Western Conference.

In 2004, Anthony and the Nuggets made a remarkable turnaround, but lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves, led by MVP Kevin Garnett.

In 2005, they lost to the eventual NBA champion San Antonio Spurs. In 2006, Denver was upset by the Los Angeles Clippers. In 2007, the Nuggets were eliminated by the eventual champion Spurs again. In 2008, the Lakers swept them in the first round of the playoffs.

A trip to the Western Conference Finals in 2009 was Anthony's deepest run as a member of the Nuggets, but they were defeated by the Kobe Bryant-led Lakers, who went on to win a title.

After a 2010 loss to Utah, Carmelo Anthony was traded to the New York Knicks the following season, and never reached an NBA Finals.