The experiment of putting together three All-Star caliber players in reigning MVP Russell Westbrook, former Indiana Pacers forward Paul George, and New York Knicks centerpiece Carmelo Anthony was a major risk for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

While this team put on paper would contend with the likes of the Golden State Warriors and the newly-formed Houston Rockets, things didn't get off to the best of starts, with the Thunder impressing against the Warriors and pulling off a convincing win on national TV, yet losing to a lowly Dallas Mavericks team by 16 points three days after.

OKC was mired in a 8-12 start and needed a desperate shakeup, so Anthony went to head coach Billy Donovan's office on his own accord after a loss to the Orlando Magic and asked a very simple question.

“What do you need from me?,” said Anthony, knowing his new team was underachieving with the level of talent on the court.

The Thunder had gotten off to strong starts, showing their promise with unmatched firepower, but let go of the rope through the second half, as teams adjusted to their style of play and managed to grab an edge over them.

“Carmelo, I think for our team, we're going to need you to fill a role,” said Anthony, recalling Donovan's words, according to ESPN Senior Writer Tim Keown. “You're going to have to stretch the floor, and you're going to have to recognize mismatches.”

“We're going to need to create space for Russ and Paul to play downhill and be creators for us. There might be times when you go four or five or six possessions and you don't get the ball. You might get missed on the break. Those are all adjustments, but we can't be the full team we're capable of being unless you're playing well.”

Melo, who had been used to his terrorizing style of one-on-one, pick-your-poison elbow ball, had to adjust to a system for the first time in his career — a thing he hadn't been asked during his eight years in Denver or his seven with New York.

“OK, Coach. I've got it,” said Anthony shortly after hearing the boss' instructions.

“I had to tell myself, ‘OK, this is different,'” Anthony reflected. “Russ did things his way here. Paul did things his way in Indiana. I did things my way in New York. We were all solo artists. So now the question is, how do you bring your solo artistry to this band? We all bring something different to this band. I think once we realized and appreciated what we bring to this band, that's when things started to click for us.”

The Thunder have gone 26-14 (65 percent winning percentage) since the meeting took place, and Anthony has put a lot of his own accolades in the back-burner to make this coalition of stars not stardust, but a bright constellation.

“The hard part is adjusting to having this opportunity. You have to sacrifice and change your game for the sake of what works for this team,” said Anthony. “Early on, it was like, ‘Damn, it's not going to be the same game no more.' I had to get a grip on that and realize it's for the better. It took a little bit for me to understand — ‘Oh, wow, we've got Russ, Paul, Steve. I got guys now.' Takes a lot off me. Takes the burden off me to go out there and have to be a superhero night in and night out.”

Anthony is only one of four players to ever average 20 or more points through every year of his career along with Michael Jordan, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant.

His scoring average is down severely, only at 17.2 points per game in this, his 15th season in the league — proving he's been willing to let go of a legacy in hopes to achieve yet another thing that has escaped him through his career — playoff glory.