The 2003 NBA Draft produced two of the best scorers in NBA history. No.1 overall pick LeBron James recently passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA's all-time scoring leader. King James is the first and only player in NBA history to score at least 40,000 career points, with 40,474 prior to the start of the 2024-25 campaign.
Then there is also No.3 overall pick Carmelo Anthony , who is currently ranked 10th overall in the NBA's all-time scoring leaderboard with 28,289 career points.
However, while LeBron has scored more points than anyone in the league's history, the late Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant once said that Carmelo was the more difficult player to defend because of his versatility and strength.
"For me? Yeah," said Kobe when asked if Melo was more difficult to guard than Bron. "Because myself, Melo, Paul Pierce, Durant's developed players that can shoot the long ball, have a great midrange game, great post up game, turnaround left shoulder, turnaround right shoulder. Melo does it all, and he's strong as a bull. I weigh a buck eighty soaking wet going up against that bull. It's fun but it's extremely challenging."
Melo was a five-level scorer
There's nothing easy about guarding LBJ because, with his skill and size, he is always going to be a matchup problem. Although he didn't shoot well from three-point distance early in his career, LeBron has developed a consistent three-point shot as of late, which makes him an even tougher cover.
However, when everyone talks about Carmelo, it's all about that five-level scoring that he possesses. We often talk about elite scorers having three levels—layup, midrange game, and three-point shot. But as far as Melo is concerned, he also owns elite post-up and ISO packages.
Not only was Melo a five-level scorer, but he was one who was both fast and strong. At 6-foot-7 and weighing 235 pounds, he was built like a tank. Despite his size, he had one of the quickest first steps ever that allowed him to blow by his defenders. Melo was also very physical, especially when defenders faced him on the low block.
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Paul George also said that Melo could get off his shot in a phone booth
Long after Kobe, current Philadelphia 76ers all-star swingman Paul George also declared Carmelo as the toughest player he's ever guarded . According to PG, Melo's ability to get off his shots, even with the slightest opening available, made him the most difficult cover.
“Melo was so good he could get his shot off in a phone booth. He didn’t need much space. So with him, I had to play extra tight,” George recalled on an episode of Podcast P . “So it was always staying tight with Melo, contest everything. He was so good at creating contact and being physical. I was just going to be in for a long game.”
LeBron clearly had a more successful NBA career than his Draft class counterpart, and he'll rank higher than Melo on the all-time scoring list. However, when it comes to pure scoring ability, some of the game’s top defenders, including Kobe and Paul George, agree that Melo was second to none.
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