Carmelo Anthony, a few months before leading the league in points: "If my scoring goes from 27 to 23, I'm cool"

Carmelo Anthony, a few months before leading the league in points: “If my scoring goes from 27 to 23, I’m cool” originally appeared on Basketball Network.

Carmelo Anthony was long seen as a scorer first, known more for his individual outbursts than for contributing positively to team play.

But heading into the 2012–13 season, the future Hall of Famer promised to change that. Speaking to the media, Melo said he was committed to putting the New York Knicks’ success ahead of his own.

From lone scorer to team-first leader

In the summer of 2012, the Knicks front office remained active. A year and a half after acquiring Anthony from the Denver Nuggets, they brought in veteran experience with Jason Kidd, Marcus Camby and Rasheed Wallace.

Those moves bolstered a core spearheaded by Melo, prompting ESPN to note that the New York native now had arguably the deepest and most seasoned supporting cast of his career.

And it was hard to argue. Since his breakout at Syracuse and being taken third in the iconic 2003 NBA Draft, the 6’7″ forward had always been the go-to guy, often with little real help.

More than anything, that meant carrying the scoring load just to keep his teams in the fight.

But that burden was about to ease. With volume scorers like J.R. Smith and Amar’e Stoudemire and a roster full of seasoned vets, Anthony recognized something important: for once, the help was there and stepping back to let others shine was the best path to team success.

“I don’t want to try to put all that burden on myself to go out there and try to do everything, so I’m willing to make any sacrifice in my game regardless of what anybody else says,” remarked Melo, per ESPN. “If my scoring goes from 27 to 23, I’m cool with that. Right now, I’m willing to make any sacrifice that I have to.”

Melo claimed the 2013 scoring title

Anthony willing to sacrifice the very thing that made him great? Likely only a handful of NBA fans believed it. Yet the 2003 NCAA champion confirmed it was true.

Despite being a potential frontrunner for the prestigious MVP award that year, Anthony simply wouldn’t waver from his newfound team above all mindset.

“At the end of the day, as long as we win games, everybody will be happy,” he emphasized. “I don’t really think about it. My mindset is to make this one of the best years for myself and for the Knicks.”

Ironically, that season’s stats told a different story.

Melo’s assists dropped from 3.6 to 2.6 per game, while his scoring went up — way up, to be exact. A year earlier, he had averaged 22.6 points, but in 2012-13, he finished with 28.7 points per contest. Edging out Kevin Durant’s 28.1 points per game average, Anthony claimed the scoring title for the first and only time in what would become a stellar 19-year NBA career.

Though the now 41-year-old didn’t keep his promise, it didn’t matter — in fact, it helped.

Led by head coach Mike Woodson, the Knickerbockers finished 54-28, winning their first Atlantic division title since 1993–94. It was also their highest win total since 1996–97, their first 50-win season and their only playoff series win since 1999–2000.

This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jul 17, 2025, where it first appeared.

Carmelo Anthony, a few months before leading the league in points: “If my scoring goes from 27 to 23, I’m cool”

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