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Carmelo Anthony Shares Story About Michael Jordan Picking Him Over LeBron James As Jordan Brand Representative

After Carmelo Anthony led the Syracuse Orangemen to win the national championship in college, there was no doubt that Melo was one of the most polarizing players coming into the 2003 NBA draft. Melo eventually made a name for himself and became the center of some lucrative deals in the NBA.

One deal includes being the representative of the Jordan brand. Although highschool phenom LeBron James was the biggest name coming into the NBA, Michael Jordan decided to resort to Carmelo instead of LeBron, as his brand representative.

In an appearance on ‘Uninterrupted’s WRTS After Party’ series, the current Portland Trail Blazer player told the story of how his deal with the brand went through.

“People don’t know my first year I was signed to Nike. Right? I didn’t have a signature shoe because the brand at that point in time I was the first signature athlete.

I remember there wasn’t a plan at that point in time. But LeBron was at Nike, and MJ stepped up and said, ‘Look, I’ll pay half, Nike pay half. Look, I’ll take Melo, y’all got LeBron, Converse got D-Wade and Bosh.’

My first sneaker I ever played in with Jordans was a 16.5 or some sh*t like that. And I remember … in preseason, the sneaker came off … I’m not playing in another retro again. Let’s work on this signature shoe.”

"MJ stepped up and said … I'll take Melo, y'all got LeBron."

Hear the story of how MJ chose @carmeloanthony to be the first @Jumpman23 signature athlete on a new #WRTS After Party.

Watch 📺: https://t.co/mN6KTKxM9b
Listen 🎧: https://t.co/OEA3RgWAqd pic.twitter.com/pziDOlIgfi

— UNINTERRUPTED (@uninterrupted) May 5, 2020

After 13 models of Melo’s shoe series, the 35-year old forward saw his sneaker line with the brand come to an end in 2017. Despite this, Carmelo still remained with the brand as a spokesperson.

Aside from Michael Jordan himself, Anthony was the first ever player to represent the signature Jordan brand in 2003. Now there are 21 players who are currently in contract with the brand. Some popular names include Zion Williamson, Luka Doncic and Chris Paul.