Although Carmelo Anthony 's most memorable moments came when he was part of the New York Knicks, he began his career in the "Mile High City" playing for the Denver Nuggets. Melo already had plenty of momentum on his side after an unforgettable one-and-done stint at Syracuse, where he led to the NCAA national title, and he wanted to keep that momentum going in the NBA.
However, he initially felt he wouldn't be able to do that if he were selected by the Nuggets, a team that went 17-65 in 2002. Fortunately, the native of Brooklyn, New York, listened to reason and agreed to go to Denver, a place that allowed him to flourish in the big league from the get-go.
"I don't want to go to Denver"
To say that the 2002-03 Nuggets squad was a mess is a gross understatement. Led by former "Fab Five" ace Juwan Howard, James Posey, and a rookie Nene, the Nuggets had a miserable season, which led to having the third pick of the stacked NBA Draft.
With LeBron James' selection as the No. 1 pick a foregone conclusion, the Nuggets had picked the 6-foot-7 forward. However, Melo originally balked at that idea and wanted to join the Detroit Pistons —a powerhouse in the East that had lucked out on the second pick.
"That'd be even better, going to Detroit. That's a playoff team. When I first heard [I might go to the Nuggets], I was like, 'I don't want to go to Denver,'" Melo recalled .
However, a conversation with his agent changed his mind and approach to playing for the Nuggets.
"But then I sat down with my agent, and he told me how much money [under the salary cap] they're going to have. They have a chance to be good," the ten-time All-Star added.
With Melo leading the way, averaging 21.0 points and 6.1 rebounds, the Nuggets finished the regular season with a 43-39 record to make it back to the NBA Playoffs for the first time since 1995. And though they lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves, Melo's decision to join the Nuggets would change the course of his career forever.
Front office's apprehensions regarding Melo
The NBA Draft involves a lot of educated guesses, no matter how well a player did in the NCAA or their previous league. In the case of Carmelo, the Nuggets were not entirely sold on his potential to become a superstar in the NBA and had concerns regarding his conditioning.
Listed at 195 pounds at Syracuse, Melo weighed in at 233 pounds during the pre-draft camp. The Nuggets' decision-makers also couldn't get a complete picture of where Anthony was in his conditioning when he visited Denver, as he didn't engage in a full workout, opting just to shoot around. And even then, he came away from that session trying to catch his breath.
"We talked about him keeping himself in the best shape. I had a conversation with him saying it was so much easier if you just keep yourself in playing shape instead of working into it during training camp," Kiki Vandeweghe—the Nuggets' general manager at that time—said. "But we all liked Melo; we knew it was a franchise-caliber player. We had been rebuilding and targeting that pick for two years, and it really worked out for us."
Melo led the Nuggets to seven straight playoff appearances, highlighted by a trip to the Western Conference Finals in 2009, where they lost to Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Related: "We all thought we were taking Melo" - Tayshaun Prince on how he and his Pistons teammates felt when the front office drafted Darko Milicic
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