LeBron James‘ and Carmelo Anthony‘s careers will always be intertwined. Although they both entered the league in 2003, they had already been good friends since high school.
In fact, Melo and Bron have gotten so close that it bothered Steve Smith, Anthony’s coach at Oak Hill Academy. Smith was worried that their friendship could dull Anthony’s competitive edge in the much-anticipated showdown against James in February 2002, when Oak Hill and St. Vincent–St. Mary were set to collide on national TV.
“You do realize we have to play this guy, right? Are you going to be able to go at him?” Smith asked an 18-year-old Carmelo (per Jeff Eisenberg of Yahoo Sports).
“Trust me,” Melo answered. “When the lights go on and the ball goes up, we’re winning that game.”
Melo made good on his promise
James and Anthony met for the first time in a USA Basketball development camp in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 2001. Bron was a year younger than Melo, possibly the best player among that batch of future basketball stars, including Deron Williams, Raymond Felton and others.
Since this was before the Internet, James and Anthony never got the chance to catch up again until their schools were scheduled to play in an arena in Trenton, New Jersey, a year later. When they saw each other checking in at their hotel, they looked like old acquaintances and immediately hit it off.
“[LeBron] come in the hotel, and we come in the hotel,” Anthony said on the “All The Smoke” podcast (H/T: Business Insider). “And he’s like, ‘Yo, you Melo?’ I’m like, yeah.”
“And we sat on the steps for hours the night before the game — like, I don’t know nothing about you, you don’t know nothing about me. We sat there for hours, just kicking it, just talking. We clicked from that moment. We just felt like we had similar backgrounds: single-parent home, broken family, growing up in the hood. That was a similar story. So we connected off of that before basketball,” Anthony recalled.
The highly anticipated matchup between Oak Hill and St. Vincent–St. Mary did not affect their relationship. Smith could see the two phenoms hanging out together, sometimes in deep conversation or bursting out in laughter.
That prompted Smith to voice his concerns to Anthony, which, in return, spawned a promise from the 18-year-old phenom. And just as he swore, the camaraderie was out the window as soon as the ball went up.
Anthony would go on to lead the Warriors to a 72-66 victory over the Fighting Irish. He dropped 34 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, while, as usual, James stuffed the stat sheet: 36 points, eight rebounds, five assists and six steals.
“What was so positive about it was they both showed a mutual respect for each other. There was no trash-talking and no trying to show the other guy up. It was fun to just watch their talent,” said Tim Rogers of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, comparing the matchup to Larry Bird vs. Magic Johnson.
Carmelo was a beast in high school
No one questioned that James was the top prospect in 2003, but Anthony carried superstar credentials of his own. Romeo Travis, a close friend and teammate of Bron’s at SVSM, thought Melo was something different altogether. That’s saying a lot, especially since he probably witnessed young LBJ do his thing every day.
“Melo was the biggest, most skilled player I’ve ever seen,” Travis declared. “Normally in high school back then, if you were 6’8″, you had your back to the basket and you were playing in the post. He was bringing the ball up, dribbling between his legs and shooting from distance. Sometimes you catch yourself in awe of how skilled these guys were.”
From their high school days, their paths never strayed far from each other. From dueling as rookies to standing side by side for Team USA’s redemption run in 2008 and repeat in 2012, James and Anthony managed to build both rivalry and partnership. The final twist came in 2021, when Carmelo finally joined LeBron in Los Angeles for a season with the Lakers.
Looking back, it’s understandable why Smith had to voice his concern. He couldn’t have known then that their bond would sharpen their competitive edge. Since their high school days, their duels have proven that respect can fuel competition as much as rivalry.