"That version of me was more of a force" - Carmelo Anthony reveals when he was the peak version of himself

Hall of Famer Carmelo Anthony had multiple versions of himself as a player throughout his iconic 19-year career. There was first-year Melo, who went toe-to-toe with LeBron James for the Rookie of the Year award, the version that peaked on the Denver Nuggets and carried them to the Western Conference Finals, the Melo as the ruler of New York City and the one that followed on the OKC Thunder, etc.

Amongst his multiple stops in the league, the former scoring champion picked his time with the Nuggets as the best years of his career because he was not only the most lethal version of himself but also the one that wasn’t required to adjust his game.

“That version of me was more of a force,” Melo told Sports Illustrated. “I was hungry. Physical. Tough. It was a validation of where I came from and how I played. As soon as I got to New York, it started to become more about, ‘He’s gotta change his game, and he’s gotta do this or that.'”

Nuggets Melo was indeed a force

Anthony spent eight years with the Nuggets, who drafted him third in the iconic 2003 NBA Draft. He was fantastic as a rookie, averaging 21.0 points and 6.1 rebounds in 82 games right off the bat. Anthony was the main reason why the Nuggets’ basketball resurrected.

Denver built around its homegrown superstar, Melo, who led them to the Western Conference Finals in 2009, where they unfortunately just bumped into Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers. But throughout his eight-year Nuggets tenure, Melo solidified himself as one of the best players in his generation with consecutive All-Star appearances and iconic performances. For as remarkable as his time with the New York Knicks was, it was greatly different than his first stop in the Association.

“Between that, and the intelligence you had to have in dealing with New York and all the media stuff, it went beyond just having to perform on the court. New York felt like more of a survival stage, if that makes sense,” Anthony added.

Melo stayed loyal to the Nuggets until he couldn’t

Despite never making it to the NBA Finals amid multiple attempts to, Anthony never wanted to leave the Nuggets. In fact, he refused to form a superteam with his fellow draft classmates in LeBron James and Dwyane Wade because he wanted to be a Nugget for life. It’s just unfortunate that their partnership had run its course despite the organization’s multiple attempts to build a contending team around him.

The divorce happened because Anthony felt the Nuggets were heading for a rebuild when they let Dahntay Jones walk in the summer of 2009, and when he also heard rumbling about Chauncey Billups possibly being amnestied. On top of that, Anthony also knew about the Nuggets’ plans of trading J.R. Smith and Nene Hilario to the Chicago Bulls for Joakim Noah, which didn’t sit quite well with him.

“Bro, you about to hand me over here, you know what I’m saying? I’m saying like it took me six years to get to this point of making it to the Western Conference finals and now you want me to start all over again? No, so here what’s we going to do. I don’t know what y’all thing is but I’m not trying to rebuild. I’m not saying I want to get out of here but y’all got to show me y’all cards,” Anthony recalled.

Even if one can make the case that Anthony’s time with the Knicks was when he truly showed his greatness as a player, it doesn’t compare to how he felt with the Nuggets. There’s still nothing like leading the team that believed in you first and carrying them to success.

This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Aug 28, 2025, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

“That version of me was more of a force” – Carmelo Anthony reveals when he was the peak version of himself

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