Carmelo Anthony needs no introduction. The Los Angeles Lakers forward has become a household name and a beloved figure amongst sports fans.
But for Melo, it wasn't always like that. Once upon a time, the Lakers star wanted to go by the name ‘Tyrone Johnson'. Anthony made an appearance on Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard and discussed a handful of topics, including the day he tried to change his identity as a kid. (Around 25:50 mark)
“I'm in 3rd grade. I'm coming from New York,” said the Lakers star. Nobody knows who the hell I am [in Baltimore]. I come the summer of '92. School starts in September. So I have two months to meet some people, hang out. Mind you, I'm 8 or 9 years old at this point. When I get to 3rd grade, first day of school you gotta write your name on a white index card.
The Lakers star revealed the reason behind it – people were messing with his name. At that time he wasn't going by ‘Melo' just yet, so he had enough of everybody getting ‘Carmelo' wrong.
That whole summer, people was butchering my name. It was just like ‘Caramelo' and ‘Camelo'. “There wasn't no nothing bad to it. I just didn't like people f–ing my name up. … So I write the name ‘Tyrone' and I'm looking around and I'm like ‘what last name am I gonna go with?' So I see a textbook and it's like ‘Johnson' and something textbook. So I'm like, ‘Tyrone Johnson'.”
Becoming a world-famous NBA superstar is one way to make sure people remember your name. Carmelo Anthony delves deep into his childhood and upbringing throughout the episode, giving listeners a snapshot behind the athlete.
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