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Carmelo Anthony is taking his hat off to the players who decided to participate in this year's FIBA World Cup.
For a variety of reasons, several prominent NBA players chose to withdraw from the 2019 FIBA World Cup, including Anthony Davis, CJ McCollum, Damian Lillard and Kyle Lowry. NBA stars that are still on Team USA's roster for this year's tournament include Donovan Mitchell, Marcus Smart, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
Clearly, this is a far cry from the roster's the United States has put forth in the past, but Anthony still has respect for the players who decided to stay aboard:
Article Continues Below“I've done it from 2002 all the way to 2016,” Anthony said during an interview with SiriusXM NBA Radio. “So I was really indebted to USA Basketball. I feel like I was one of their own for all of those years. I actually got guys to play (in FIBA) over the years.
“I think the mentality is totally different now,” Anthony added. “(Players) look out there and they say, ‘Alright, who's coming?' And if it ain't a monster squad that's coming, they're gonna back out.
“For the guys that have committed this year and playing right now, you gotta take your hat off to them,” Anthony said in closing. “They don't really know what that experience is like. I'm sure they feel like, ‘We're second fiddle. Everybody backed out and now you want us.'”
With many players choosing not to play for Team USA in the World Cup, 3-time Olympic Gold medalist @carmeloanthony gives respect to the guys playing now with @TheFrankIsola and @Scalabrine pic.twitter.com/o4sAjM4lfP
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) September 6, 2019
Anthony, a three-time Olympic gold medalist who remains without an NBA deal, was reportedly interested in playing for Team USA at the 2019 FIBA World Cup. However, his request was denied.
“I love Carmelo,” USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo told UPI in August. “He made a great contribution. He was a very good international player. But for where we are and what we're doing, that conceivably could have been a distraction. I understand why the request was made. He's trying to reestablish himself. I think that has to be done in the [NBA].”
Whether or not Anthony will get another NBA deal remains to be seen, but it's clear that he still has love for Team USA and what it stands for.
