Carmelo Anthony Sets The Record Straight On Wizards-Era Michael Jordan

In a segment on his '7PM in Brooklyn' podcast, former NBA swingman Carmelo Anthony detailed his experience watching Michael Jordan during his rookie year. While Jordan was already retired by Anthony's NBA debut, Melo still remembers watching him during the final stage of his career.

Kazeem Famuyide: "Did rookie Melo get any run with Mike and what was his game like up close?"

Carmelo Anthony: "I just remember watching him as a basketball player like, damn he just looked so different. He's not MJ of old like he's not MJ flying through the air, but the game looked so easy to him. He's just catching it and in two dribbles, it's right, shot fak, boom get to the rack. One dribble, hesi pull, tween tween. He's just picking his spots, and they can't do sh*t about it."

Ageing has never been easy for NBA stars and that was the case for Carmelo when his game began to decline in the late 2010s. He bounced around to several teams and never quite fit into any of them before eventually being phased out of the league entirely. Carmelo did have a nice little comeback at the very end but he was never able to re-capture the magic of his prime.

Roughly 20 years earlier, Michael Jordan set the standard for closing one's career that has yet to be matched. His first retirement came in 1993 when he took a short break to play baseball and grieve the death of his father.

He retired again in 1998 as the best player in basketball history, fresh off a second three-peat and his sixth NBA Finals MVP. He was already a living legend before deciding to come back for the third and final time in 2001. This time, he played for a Wizards team that was nowhere near contention but one that Michael hoped to one day make his own.

In his final two seasons with the Wizards, Michael averaged 21.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game on 43.1% shooting. Michael was not nearly the player he used to be, but he was still better than most and he was still someone who his team looked to to save them time and time again.

Even when Jordan lost his explosiveness and athleticism, he maintained enough finesse, smarts, and footwork to play at an elite level. He had enough skills in his bag to be the best player on his team at 38 and 39 years old.

Michael was already gone by the time that Melo heard his name on draft day but they likely had many interactions over the years which helped Anthony maximize his own skills. Carmelo was not nearly as successful as Michael, a 6x champion, but the reason why he was able to find success so late into his career is probably from what he learned watching Jordan on the Wizards.

Much like LeBron James (39) is doing today, Michael changed his game and adapted his style to keep up with the game and compensate for his aging body. Had he gotten today's medical treatment Jordan may have been able to extend his career for several more years and he may not have retired at all after winning it all in 1998.

We'll never know for sure how it would have panned out but nobody can say that Michael didn't do the best with what he was given. The guy is the GOAT for a reason and even today players are still trying to live up to his timeless legacy.

Related: 10 Reasons Why Wizards' Michael Jordan Was Better Than You Think

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