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LeBron James Reveals What He Respects Most About Carmelo Anthony

Back in 2003, LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony were drafted with the first and third picks in the NBA Draft. The two have been friends since long before their NBA days and remained good friends throughout their respective NBA careers. Alongside Kyle Korver, the two are the only players to still play in the league today.

While both James and Anthony have been superstars, their careers went in different directions in recent years. LeBron arguably still is the NBA’s best player today, but for Melo, these past few seasons haven’t really been ideal.

After a rough year in Oklahoma City, Anthony was traded to the Atlanta Hawks in a three-way deal, but never played a minute for the Hawks, and was bought out of his contract. Houston then signed him and was hopeful that he could improve their team.

That only lasted a couple of weeks, before Carmelo Anthony’s services were no longer required in Houston. He was the easy scapegoat for how subpar and dysfunctional the Rockets were. Then, the Portland Trail Blazers finally gave Melo a chance this season, a chance Melo took advantage of.

Melo’s characteristic of never giving up or doubting himself, knowing what he is capable of, is one of the things LeBron James respects most about his friend. When asked what he respects most about Anthony, James told The Athletic:

“His resiliency. Just resilient. He don’t let nothing stop him, he don’t care what nobody say, he do him, then he believes in his journey. And he ain’t gonna let nobody stop him from his journey.

In a world where everybody’s always trying to tell what you should do and how you should do it and the only way you can be successful is how they tell you to do it, I love how resilient he is.”