After years of rumors swirling around the possibility of a Los Angeles Lakers and Carmelo Anthony partnership, it finally happened as Melo signed a one-year contract with the Purple and Gold.

Anthony has always been linked to the Lakers even before his buddy LeBron James joined the team in 2018.

In 2014, as Anthony was mulling his options whether to re-sign with the New York Knicks or not, the Lakers were rumored on signing him to a four-year, $97 million contract. This was later confirmed by Anthony, revealing he got a pitch from Los Angeles in an interview with USA Today.

Now that it finally happened, Anthony, just like the rest of us, is in disbelief (via ESPN)

“I think people downplay that as far as what it truly means to be a Laker. It's a special thing, a special moment, a special experience. I want to embrace that. I don't take any of that for granted.”

There will certainly be a lot of “what if's” for the 2014 Lakers and Melo as he and the late Kobe Bryant could have formed an unstoppable duo.

Now, Anthony is not the same player the Lakers coveted back in 2014. A bonafide scorer and future Hall of Famer, the 37-year-old forward accepted a much lesser role in the twilight year of his career. He will likely come off the bench and provide a scoring punch for the Lakers' second unit.

The only thing missing in his decorated career is an NBA championship and the Lakers can certainly give him one if this long overdue partnership comes to fruition.

Carmelo Anthony will join LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal, Magic Johnson, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the long list of legends who have donned the famous Purple and Gold jersey.