"I don't really know what else I could have done" - What 19-year-old Carmelo Anthony said after losing the ROY award to LeBron James

The 2003 NBA Draft will forever be remembered as one of the most stacked classes in basketball history. An electric young guard out of Marquette, a promising stretch four out of Georgia Tech, a reigning national champion with powerful scoring abilities, and last but not least — "The Chosen One" from Akron, OH.

Together, these four headlined numerous storylines throughout the 2003-04 NBA season — none bigger than the Rookie of The Year race. While Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade made a reasonable contention for the award earlier in the season, it was clear that the race would come down to Carmelo Anthony and No. 1 overall draft pick LeBron James .

"People are going to think what they want to think," Anthony said after finishing second place to James, per The Associated Press. "I don't really know what else I could have done."

Melo certainly had a strong case. The star forward averaged 21.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.2 steals on 42.6% shooting from the field. The young Nuggets star stood at the forefront of a 26-win improvement for the franchise in 2004.

"I thought it could go either way," James said after winning the award. "I thought it could be a split decision."

Despite Anthony's phenomenal rookie season, Bron garnered a whopping 78 of the possible 118 first-place votes. His averages of 20.9 points, 5.9 assists, 5,5 rebounds, and 1.6 steals ultimately swayed the votes in his favor. Being tabbed as the next potential great in line, the aura he carried definitely played a role in him comfortably edging out Baltimore native for the award. Of course, his incredible NBA debut against the Sacramento Kings fueled James' case from the jump.

First matchup

After squaring off in multiple marquee high school matchups, the two were finally prepared to showcase their talents on the NBA stage. On November 5, 2003 — in just the fourth game of the season — King James and Melo squared off in Cleveland for the star pair's first NBA duel. Denver entered the game with a 2-2 record, while Bron's Cavs were seeking their first win of the season.

The Nuggets won, 93-89 — although the star matchup was a dud. Anthony finished 14 points on 6-17 shooting in 39 minutes of action. James, meanwhile, was considerably worse — scoring just 7 points on 3-11 shooting. He added 11 rebounds and 7 assists to make the final box score look better.

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Did Anthony edge LeBron?

Less than four weeks later, the superstar rookies were back at it again — this time in Denver. Carmelo's impact on his team was beginning to show, as the Nuggets were now 10-6 on the season. Cleveland was still a struggling team with a mere 4 wins on the season.

In their first matchup, Anthony won the battle and the war. And in the second and final matchup of the season, Melo (again) won the battle and the war. He finished with 26 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals, and 4 blocks on an efficient 8-16 shooting from the field. No. 15's all-around effort gave his team a 12-point home victory over King James and Co.

Although he played considerably better than in their first meeting, Cleveland's No. 23 recorded 19 points on just 6-19 shooting. He was a -12 for the game, as his classmate was now 2-0 against him in the NBA.

Even 20 years later, this Rookie of The Year race is hotly debated. Many recognize that King James was great all season long, but Anthony's case was arguably stronger. His head-to-head duels against "The Kid from Akron" strengthened his case.

Simply put, the hype around James was too great. Even if the Syracuse product averaged a 30-point triple-double, Bron would've won the award with the numbers he put up because he was a kid who ate cafeteria school lunch just months earlier. Still, Anthony deserves to be lauded for stringing together one of the best rookie seasons of all time.

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