Knicks legend Carmelo Anthony picks his ideal starting five in NBA history

Carmelo Anthony spent nearly two decades as one of the NBA’s brightest stars, making his mark especially with the Denver Nuggets and New York Knicks. Now retired, the former forward shared his dream starting lineup, made up of a mix of current and former stars.

In a recent appearance on Close Friends Only, Anthony was asked to name his favorite lineup of basketball legends, and his answer caught many by surprise. He started by selecting an active player as his point guard: “I’ll go with Chris Paul because I played with Chris Paul for two Olympics.”

Indeed, Carmelo and CP teamed up for Team USA in the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Olympics, where they won gold medals. They were also part of the squad that competed at the 2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan, finishing third after losing to Greece in the semifinals. Additionally, they briefly played together on the Houston Rockets.

Anthony quickly rounded out his lineup with four more selections. “MJ (Michael Jordan), LeBron (James), (Kevin) Durant, and myself,” said the 2013 scoring champion without hesitation. One notable aspect of his picks: Carmelo leaned heavily toward players from his own era—those he either played alongside in the NBA or with Team USA. All but one.

Carmelo Anthony named Michael Jordan in his ideal starting five.

The lone exception was Michael Jordan, who retired in 2003 with the Washington Wizards, just before Anthony was selected third overall in the NBA Draft by the Nuggets. Including the Chicago Bulls legend in his starting five highlights the deep respect and admiration Carmelo holds for him.

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Like Chris Paul, both LeBron and Durant were teammates of Carmelo’s on various Team USA squads. James played with him during the disappointing 2004 Athens Olympics—the only time in the past 33 years that Team USA failed to win gold—and also joined him for the Redeem Team in 2008 and again in London 2012. KD took part in the latter, as well as in Rio 2016, which was Melo’s final Olympic appearance.

Several high-profile stars from Anthony’s era were notably left off his list. Perhaps the most surprising omission was Kobe Bryant, a key member of that 2008 Redeem Team, who apparently lost his spot to Michael Jordan at two-guard.

Other players Carmelo shared the court with but didn’t include were Tim Duncan, Allen Iverson, Jason Kidd, Dwyane Wade, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving.