One of the most underappreciated players in the NBA in recent years has got to be Carmelo Anthony. Before joining the Portland Trail Blazers in 2019, people were saying that he was done. One of the factors that led to this premature assumption was how Melo was portrayed by the media.

Anthony was labeled as a ball hog, selfish, and even a cancer to his team. For former teammate Kenyon Martin, he blames the media for painting Melo in a bad light:

“For a long time, people have been saying negative things about my youngin’ — that he’s selfish, he’s a bad teammate, he’s not willing to sacrifice, stuff like that,” Martin wrote in an opion piece for BasketballNews.com. “But the negativity that he’s gotten has mostly been from the media; he’s always gotten nothing but love from the guys he was in the trenches with.”

Martin and Anthony spent many years together in the trenches first with the Denver Nuggets, and then years later with the New York Knicks. Martin clearly built a lasting personal relationship with Melo through the course of their run as teammates, and the former can attest to the notion that Carmelo Anthony is indeed a good teammate. He may have his flaws — like all of us — but what Martin is saying here is that in the end, Melo has the interest of his team and his teammates in mind.

The people of Portland have grown to love Melo since the time he joined the Blazers and he's repaid them with quality minutes night in and night out. He may no longer be the superstar he once was, but Anthony is still a key piece for Blazers and their playoff hopes this season.