Carmelo 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.

Anthony's father is African-American and his mother Puerto Rican. His family moved to Baltimore in 1992 where he began winning local basketball awards. Anthony transferred to Oak Hill Academy in Virginia, and became a high school All-American. He then played for one season at Syracuse University, playing alonyside star guard Gerry McNamara. He averaged about 20 points and 10 rebounds per game in leading the Orangemen to their first ever NCAA tournament title in 2003. 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, spoiling head coach Roy Williams' final season with the Jayhawks. Afterwards, 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.

In his first year, he averaged 21 points per game and lead the Nuggets to one of the biggest turnarounds in NBA history, transforming the lowly team into a playoff contender. Anthony narrowly lost Rookie of the Year honors to the Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James. He was chosen as a member of the 2004 USA Olympic basketball team.

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 spit a drink on Anthony's now-fiancée, MTV personality La La Vasquez, in New York City in September. Later that year, videotape of Anthony hanging with an entourage appeared on a VHS distributed in urban Baltimore, 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 became engaged to Alani Vasquez (La La Vasquez) on Christmas Day December 25, 2004.

See also

• List of famous Puerto Ricans

External Links

• Official Site of Carmelo Anthony