Carmelo Anthony turned down top-level European interest before retirement / News - Basketnews.com

NBA insider Marc Stein revealed that Carmelo Anthony received interest from top-level European teams during the season, but the veteran player remained steadfast in his desire to play only in the NBA.

Credit: AP - Scanpix Credit AP - Scanpix

Prolific scorer Carmelo Anthony, after an impressive 19-year career in professional basketball, recently announced his retirement through a social media post.

However, according to NBA insider Marc Stein, Melo had potential opportunities to continue playing, albeit not in the NBA.

"League sources say Carmelo Anthony did receive some top-level European interest this season, but decided that he wasn't going to play anywhere unless the offer came from the NBA," Stein wrote on his Substack.

The 38-year-old Anthony was not inclined to pursue playing basketball overseas like other former stars, such as Dwight Howard (Taiwan).

With a remarkable track record that includes 10 All-Star selections and six All-NBA team honors, Anthony concluded his career as the ninth-highest scorer in NBA history. Only basketball legends such as LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Dirk Nowitzki, Wilt Chamberlain, and Shaquille O'Neal have tallied more points than Melo, who amassed a total of 28,289 points.

Anthony is considered a FIBA basketball legend. He helped Team USA win Olympic gold three times — at Beijing in 2008, at London in 2012, and at Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

Melo has played in 31 games in four appearances at the Olympics, the most of any U.S. men's player ever. Anthony's 37 points against Nigeria in the 2012 games is a USA Basketball men's record at an Olympics, as are his 10 3-pointers from that game and his 13-for-13 effort from the foul line against Argentina in 2008.

He will remain part of international basketball for at least a few more months. Anthony is one of the ambassadors to the FIBA World Cup 2023, which will be held this summer in the Philippines, Japan, and Indonesia.

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