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Carmelo K. Anthony (born May 29, 1984 in New York City, New York) currently plays professional basketball as a small forward for the Denver Nuggets of the NBA.

His father, who Carmelo is named after, was Puerto Rican and his mother African-American. His father died of cancer when Anthony was 2 years old. He lived in the small town of Friona, Texas for two years then his family moved to Baltimore in 1992 where he began winning local basketball awards. Has two brothers, Robert and Wilford, a sister, Michelle, and half sister Daphne.

Anthony transferred to Oak Hill Academy in Virginia, and became a high school All-American. He then played for one season at Syracuse University. He averaged 22.2 points (16th in nation, 4th in Big East) and 10.0 rebounds in leading the Orangemen to their first ever NCAA tournament title in 2003. He led the team in scoring, rebounding, minutes played (36.4 mpg), field goals made and attempted and free throws made and attempted. Carmelo also earned the tournament's Final Four MVP honors--his efforts included a 33 point explosion against Texas in the semi-final, and a solid 20 points and 10 rebounds in the final victory over Kansas. Afterward, the overjoyed Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim described Anthony as, "...by far, the best player in college basketball. It wasn’t even close. Nobody was even close to him last year in college basketball. That’s the bottom line." Anthony chose to abandon his collegiate career and declare himself eligible for the 2003 NBA Draft, where he was chosen 3rd overall by the Nuggets, behind Lebron James (1st overall,Cleveland Cavaliers) and Darko Milicic (2nd overall, Detroit Pistons).

In his first year, he averaged 21 points per game and lead the Nuggets to one of the biggest turnarounds in NBA history, transforming a previously uncompetitive team into a playoff contender. Anthony narrowly lost Rookie of the Year honors to the Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James (even though Anthony's Nuggets made the playoffs and had a winning record, whilst James' Cavaliers did neither). He was chosen as a member of the 2004 USA Olympic basketball team.

Before Carmelo joined the 2004 USA Olympic basketball team, he was Punk'd by Ashton Kutcher's crew members for falsely believing that Carmelo's friends trashed the hotel room that was worth $10,000 in damages. After this prank, Carmelo said, "You'll pay for this, Ashton!"

Carmelo's playing style is not considered to be as flashy as that of fellow 2003 draft picks Dwyane Wade and James, but he is generally recognized as a prolific scorer. Anthony has a variety of subtle offensive moves, a consistent jump shot, and an uncanny ability to drive to the basket and earn trips to the free throw line.

However, his on-court feats have been somewhat over-shadowed by off-court troubles. He was charged with misdemeanor drug possession in October 2004, after airport inspectors found marijuana in his backpack. The charge was dropped after a friend said the marijuana was his. In November, three men were arrested on suspicion of trying to extort $3 million from Anthony with a videotape of a bar fight that broke out after someone spilt a drink on Anthony's now-fiancée, MTV personality La La Vasquez, in New York City in September. Later that year, footage of Anthony hanging with an entourage appeared on a video called Stop Snitching distributed in urban Baltimore, Maryland, casting the player as being in favor of death or violence against those who "snitch" on drug dealers to local law enforcement. Anthony claimed he was set up and he did not condone violence against police informants.

Carmelo's former penthouse condo in Denver's Golden Triangle neighborhood was featured on the MTV show Cribs. His current home also was featured on MTV Cribs.

Carmelo became engaged to Alani Vasquez (La La Vasquez) on Christmas Day, December 25, 2004.

Carmelo wears the number 15 on his jersey. According to his official site, “My original number was 22 but when I went to Syracuse that was retired for Dave Bing. So I switched to 15 and then that become my number.”

Carmelo is the sponsor for several companies. His major sponsorship is with Nike, Inc.'s Michael Jordan line of shoes and apparel. He has had two signature shoes: the Nike Jordan Carmelo 1.5 and Air Jordan Carmelo 5.5.

See also

• List of famous Puerto Ricans

External links

• Official Site of Carmelo Anthony
• Carmelo Anthony
• Carmelo Anthony – Player profile, statistics, biography, wallpapers

Preceded by: Juan Dixon

NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player (men)

Succeeded by: Emeka Okafor

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