No team will enter the 2021-22 NBA season with as much pressure as the Los Angeles Lakers. Their massive summer haul has the critics and the naysayers betting against them in what they believe will be a failed experiment for the 2020 NBA champs. Carmelo Anthony happens to be one of the Lakers' high-profile recruits, and the 10-time All-Star recently opened up about the type of mindset the team possesses ahead of the season.
Speaking on ESPN's First Take with Stephen A. Smith, Melo acknowledged the pressure riding on the shoulders of every player in the locker room. He also said that on a personal level, he's shifted to a mindset wherein he HAS to win a championship now that he's joined LeBron James and the Lakers:
“If I was just to walk away from the game before, then I would have been at peace with [not getting a ring],” Anthony said, “but now that perspective is totally different. Now I HAVE to win.”
Carmelo Anthony believes this season is championship or bust for him with the Lakers:
"If I was just to walk away from the game before, then I would have been at peace with [not getting a ring]. … But now that perspective is totally different. Now I HAVE to win." pic.twitter.com/h5HReVDfks
— First Take (@FirstTake) September 14, 2021
Smith then asked Anthony if this was his way of saying that it's championship or bust for LeBron, himself, and the rest of the Lakers this coming season. Melo didn't dance around the question:
“It gotta be,” he responded adamantly. “I mean it has to be. There's no playing around with that.”
Anthony also acknowledged the fact that teams such as the L.A. Clippers, the Brooklyn Nets, and the Milwaukee Bucks are going to be some of the biggest threats to the Lakers' quest for a championship, but at the end of the day, Melo is confident that his squad has what it takes to bring back the trophy to Hollywood.
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