LeBron James makes his regular-season home debut with the Los Angeles Lakers tonight, and Carmelo Anthony will be one of the close friends he has to face.

The Lakers host the Houston Rockets at Staples Center, which means James is going up against Chris Paul and Anthony, two people James considers his brothers. After the Lakers' morning shootaround, James mentioned what Anthony means to him, both as a player and friend, and was also asked if he and Anthony talked about teaming up on the Lakers this summer, via Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times:

“There was a lot of conversation,” James said about the prospect of him and Anthony being teammates. “Between basketball, between life, everything. We had a lot of conversations, but we talk all the time.”

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Carmelo Anthony was traded by the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Atlanta Hawks in the offseason. The Hawks then waived Anthony, making the veteran scorer an unrestricted free agent. There was talk that Anthony wanted to join LeBron James on the Lakers, but Melo ended up signing a one-year deal worth the veteran's minimum with the Rockets.

LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony were both part of the legendary 2003 NBA draft that also featured Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. The two have had some memorable battles over their Hall of Fame careers. They are, however, at different stages of their careers now. James is still the best player in the game, while Anthony has been reduced to a bench role in Houston.