People meet plenty of individuals that change their lives, either for better or for worse, in their journey to become the person they are at the moment. On Thursday, it was future Hall of Famer Carmelo Anthony's turn to honor someone who played a huge part in mentoring him and molding him into the NBA superstar he became and the person he is today as he proceeds with life after the NBA.

March 8, 2023 marked a historic moment for the Syracuse Orange men's basketball program. In the wake of a crushing loss to the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at the ACC tournament, Syracuse decided that it was time to move on from Jim Boeheim after the program's head coach for 47 years decided to announce his retirement.

Shortly thereafter, Carmelo Anthony, one of the Syracuse program's greatest success stories, honored his former coach with the heartfelt message he posted on his official Twitter account.

“Legend. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me and the game @therealboeheim 🙏🏾 #cusefamily,” Anthony wrote.

Of course, no Syracuse alumnus would ever forget how successful the partnership between Carmelo Anthony and Jim Boeheim turned out to be, no matter how short-lived it was. While Syracuse remained a March Madness fixture for the vast majority of Boeheim's tenure, they were able to reach the mountaintop thanks in large part to Anthony's stellar performance for the Orange.

During that season, Anthony led the way for Syracuse en route to a 30-5 record; playing in all of their 35 games, Anthony averaged 22.2 points and 10 rebounds on 49.6 percent shooting from the field. And in the National Championship game against the Kansas Jayhawks, he once again paced the game in scoring with 20.

Carmelo Anthony's partnership with Jim Boeheim did not stop there, however. Boeheim was on the sidelines as an assistant coach for five of Anthony's stints with Team USA. The legendary Syracuse coach was with Anthony during his three Olympic gold medal wins in Beijing 2008, London 2012, and Rio 2016.

Boeheim was also with Anthony in the trenches when they were trying to wipe away the stench of their heartbreaking defeat in the 2006 FIBA World Cup, necessitating their participation in the 2007 FIBA Americas qualifying tournament.