Carmelo Anthony announces retirement from basketball

After 19 seasons, Carmelo Anthony has announced his retirement from basketball.

One of the greatest scorers in NBA history, Melo shared his news with the following video, sharing that, “now the time has come for me to say goodbye. To the court where I made my name, to the game that gave me purpose and pride. With this bittersweet goodbye to the NBA, I am excited about what the future holds for me.”

After winning a NCAA title with Syracuse in 2003, Anthony immediately exploded in the NBA with his scoring prowess. He put up 21 points per game as a rookie with the Nuggets in 2003-04 before jumping all the way to 26.5 points a night in just his third season. After securing his first All-Star appearance in 2006-07, he went on to make the All-Star team 10 times to go along with six All-NBA team nods (four for the Third Team, and two for the Second Team) across his time with the Nuggets and Knicks.

Anthony was also the NBA’s scoring leader in 2012-13 with 28.7 points a night. And after bouncing around with a few different teams over his final five seasons, he finished his career with an average of 22.5 points per game.

Thanks to an endless array of jab steps, post-up moves, mid-range pull-ups, and signature three to the dome celebrations, Melo finishes his career as the ninth-leading scorer in NBA history with a staggering 28,289 points.

With that scoring resume, it’s no surprise that Anthony was named to the NBA’s 75th anniversary team. And on top of that, he has his NCAA championship and three Olympic gold medals as a member of Team USA in Beijing, London and Rio de Janeiro. Melo ranks second in USA men’s Olympic history with 336 points, and holds the single-game scoring record with 37.

Now, in his retirement announcement, Anthony has emphasized that it’s time for his 16-year-old son, Kiyan, to follow in his footsteps.

“My legacy, now and forever, lives on through you,” Anthony said.

What a sensational career.