Portland Trail Blazers forward Carmelo Anthony recently revealed that he and Los Angeles Lakers superstar forward LeBron James were not the happiest bunch when they did not start for Team USA in the 2004 Olympics. Instead, veteran NBA forwards Richard Jefferson and Shawn Marion got the start, which Melo didn't seem to like too much.
“When we made that pact it was just like, ‘What? They’re playing in front of us? Really?’ That was me and Bron’s mentality,” the 10-time NBA All-Star originally said. “But then, we used to go to practice, and in practice that was our games. We used to huddle up before practice and be like, ‘Yo listen. Let’s go to war. We want to smoke today. If they ain’t ready to play today, it’s on.'”
Now, Jefferson has clapped back to Melo and explained that Anthony just simply wasn't ready for that stage back in 2004.
Although the tandem of Richard Jefferson and Shawn Marion was most certainly formidable at the time, it is honestly unfathomable to think that they got the nod over the duo of James and Anthony — two future NBA Hall of Famers. Not only that, but Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James combined to play a mere 139 minutes during the 2004 Olympic Games.
Of course, both Anthony and James were very early on in their respective NBA playing careers at the time while Jefferson and Marion were already established veterans. Even so, it still seems crazy to think that this is an actual argument in the year 2020.
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