Even though we tend to dehumanize them, NBA players are just regular people — who make bunch loads of cash. But, just like us, they have dreams, goals, root for a given team, and live their lives in the most normal way they can. Even Los Angeles Lakers star Carmelo Anthony.
That’s why it was so hard for him to decide between going back home and sign with the New York Knicks or joining the Lakers to pursue a championship. Especially because he was already set in the Big Apple.
Eventually, the Lakers reached out to him and he couldn’t turn down his lifelong friend LeBron James. But, apparently, what he really wanted was to stay home and run it back at the Madison Square Garden.
Carmelo Anthony Admits He Nearly Turned Down LeBron And The Lakers To Go Back To The Knicks
“It was (hard) because I had just moved and bought a house in New York,” Anthony told Alder Amo of Empire Sports Media. “It was unexpected. My son starts school (today) in New York. So it was like, I’m here, I’m home. I never expected the Lakers to call.”
“Having a great chance to win [was what made me decide to join the Lakers]. It took me some days to really like sit down and kind of break it down and really dig deep into making that decision,” Anthony added.
“To most people, it probably would have been an easy decision to make. But to me, it wasn’t. I really have to align a lot of things and put things in order for things to work out, for me to feel comfortable to be away from my family for another year and the kids not being there. People don’t understand that part. That’s the hardest part. The basketball (part) is easy,” he concluded.
Melo’s tenure with the Knicks didn’t end in the best way and he really deserved better, so we get his desire to go back home. Hopefully, he’ll get another shot to play for his beloved team before retiring.