Carmelo Anthony with the Lakers in 2022. Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Carmelo Anthony refutes narrative that he couldn't defend

By Adam Taylor | Last updated 12/9/23

When you think of Carmelo Anthony, you think of a pure scorer. A post-up savant who could get to his spots whenever he wanted. What you don't think of is a lockdown defender who could be trusted to guard the best player on the opposing team. For the majority of his career, there was a narrative that he was a subpar defender that teams would have to hide as part of their overall system.

Anthony doesn't approve of that narrative. He believes that during his 19-year tenure, there isn't a player who can outright say they got the better of him.

"The narrative that gets put on you stays with you no matter what," Anthony said during an episode of "7PM in Brooklyn." "Even if you've proven that narrative wrong, they're gonna wait to give you that credit until a certain moment...You can't tell me nobody, in two decades of playing, that bust my a**. Nobody can say that. The best of the best. And I stand on that...I held my own against everybody."

Standin. On. Bidness. pic.twitter.com/B5v3OM8X8c
— 7PM in Brooklyn (@7PMinBrooklyn) December 9, 2023

Throughout his career, Anthony had a defensive rating of 108.9. It's not an egregious defensive rating, but it's also not something that would put him in the conversation of elite defenders in the NBA. Anthony was never as bad as the narrative suggested. He fought. He embraced contact. And most importantly, he took his matchups seriously.

Still, there's no denying that Anthony was a superstar offensive threat. He excelled on that side of the court and made his name off the back of his scoring exploits. Even now, there would be a handful of teams around the league that would love to have Anthony coming off their bench. His veteran experience and consistency make him the ideal veteran on a contending team.

Anthony didn't deserve the label of being a bad defender, especially during his prime years and even as a veteran in the final stages of his career. It's something that stuck with him from his first few seasons in the league. Nevertheless, whenever we look back at his career, we will remember "Melo, the pure scorer," and that wouldn't change, regardless of how his defense was viewed by the media and fans around the world.

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