Doobie Doo
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Whose NBA career was better? Carmelo Anthony vs. Vince Carter
Ben Rohrbach
,
Yahoo Sports•April 4, 2019
Victors are determined decisively on the court, but one of the great fundamental joys of fandom outside the lines has no clear winner. We love to weigh the merits of our favorite competitors’ accomplishments against each other, and yet a taproom full of basketball fans will never yield a unanimous decision on the GOAT. In this series, we attempt to settle scores of NBA undercard debates — or at least give you fodder for your next “Who was better?” argument." style="margin-bottom: 1em;">Victors are determined decisively on the court, but one of the great fundamental joys of fandom outside the lines has no clear winner. We love to weigh the merits of our favorite competitors’ accomplishments against each other, and yet a taproom full of basketball fans will never yield a unanimous decision on the GOAT. In this series, we attempt to settle scores of NBA undercard debates — or at least give you fodder for your next “Who was better?” argument.
Previously: Dwyane Wade vs. Dirk Nowitzki]
THE MATCHUP: Carmelo Anthony vs. Vince Carter"
Sharing rosters with post-prime stars Allen Iverson, Chauncey Billups and Amar’e Stoudemire, among others, Anthony was always the best player on his teams in that span. During that nine-year run, he led the Denver Nuggets and Knicks to the playoffs each season, save for the last of those years, and he finished top-10 in MVP voting twice, including a third-place finish on a 54-win team in 2012-13.
Likewise, the end of Carter’s prime is up for debate. He still put up numbers while wearing out his welcome at a second stop before the end of it, but his absence from the 2008 All-Star Game signaled he had run his course as a Guy That Mattered. So, we’ll peg his prime from 1999-2007, when for an eight-year run on the Toronto Raptors and New Jersey Nets he averaged 24.6 points (44.6 FG%, 37.9 3P%, 79.4 FT%), 5.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 2.1 combined blocks/steals.
Carter was the man during his Raptors tenure, even though he shared the court with pre-prime Tracy McGrady and Chris Bosh. When he was traded to the Nets, that was Jason Kidd’s team. Carter’s teams made the playoffs in six of his eight prime seasons, missing them in 2003, when a knee injury cost him half his season, and again in 2004, which signaled the beginning of his end in Toronto. (His knee injury also cost him the final 22 regular-season games and the playoffs in 2002.) He never climbed higher than 10th in the MVP voting, finishing exactly there in 2000.
Advantage: Anthony" style="margin-bottom: 1em;">Advantage: Anthony
Career high"
Statistically speaking, Carter’s next season might have been his best. While his other numbers remained fairly consistent, his 27.6 points per game in 2000-01 (on 55.1 percent true shooting) climbed to a truly elite level. It was also the only season in which he was the best player on a team that won a first-round playoff series.
Advantage: Anthony" style="margin-bottom: 1em;">Advantage: Anthony
On a grander playoff scale, Anthony has averaged 24.5 points (41.5 FG%, 30.9 3P%, 82.4 FT%), 7.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.7 blocks/steals in 72 playoff games over 10 appearances (nine straight from 2004-13). His teams twice got out of the first round, reaching the aforementioned 2009 West finals and 2013 East semis. In his prime, Anthony twice lost as a favorite — to Utah and Indiana teams that probably should not have been underdogs in 2010 and 2013, respectively.
Carter has averaged 18.1 points (41.6 FG%, 33.8 3P%, 79.6 FT%), 5.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.6 blocks/steals in 88 playoff games over 11 appearances, although those numbers include six playoff bids in his post-prime years. Carter has played past the first round on five occasions in his career (once when he was his team’s top dog), reaching the 2010 Eastern Conference finals as a second (or third) option on an Orlando Magic team with Dwight Howard at the top of his game.
Advantage: Anthony" style="margin-bottom: 1em;">Advantage: Anthony
Hardware
• Anthony: 10-time All-Star; six-time All-NBA selection (2x Second Team, 4x Third Team); 2013 scoring champion; three-time Olympic gold medalist (2008, 2012, 2016); three-time USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year (2006, 2008, 2016)." style="margin-bottom: 1em;">• Anthony: 10-time All-Star; six-time All-NBA selection (2x Second Team, 4x Third Team); 2013 scoring champion; three-time Olympic gold medalist (2008, 2012, 2016); three-time USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year (2006, 2008, 2016).
• Carter: Eight-time All-Star; two-time All-NBA selection (1x Second Team, 1x Third Team); 1999 Rookie of the Year; 2000 slam dunk champion; Olympic gold medalist (2000)." style="margin-bottom: 1em;">• Carter: Eight-time All-Star; two-time All-NBA selection (1x Second Team, 1x Third Team); 1999 Rookie of the Year; 2000 slam dunk champion; Olympic gold medalist (2000).
That is classic Melo, though. He always took the bird in hand to the detriment of a potential more illustrious career path, including the five-year extension he signed with the Knicks in 2014. Even still, he was an All-NBA talent for six seasons over an eight-year stretch, while Carter never made an All-NBA roster past the age of 24.
Advantage: Anthony" style="margin-bottom: 1em;">Advantage: Anthony
For the culture" style="font-size: 1.3em; margin: 0.5em 0px 1em; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; line-height: 1.3em;">For the culture
Anthony’s legacy is a complicated one, especially if there is not another chapter to be written. Given how quickly his play has plummeted over the past few years (hard to imagine he was an All-Star, albeit an injury replacement, as recently as 2017), Anthony is probably underrated at this point. He was, at his peak, the game’s most prolific scorer, a top-three talent behind two of the 10 best players ever and the best player on a team that might’ve had a real chance to unseat Kobe’s 2009 Lakers in the Western Conference finals had he gotten a little more help in Game 5.
He also won an NCAA title and three gold medals as a bona fide phenomenon, which makes the defining characteristic of his career — that he always seemed more concerned with individual achievement than team success — so puzzling. His late-career refusal to accept less than a star’s role on Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets teams that had real designs on rings if he could have ever accepted that Olympic Melo role in the NBA only reinforces this reputation.
Advantage: Carter" style="margin-bottom: 1em;">Advantage: Carter
THE DAGGER: Carmelo Anthony was better." THE DAGGER: Carmelo Anthony was better.
If you have an idea for a matchup you would like to see in this series, let us know." style="margin-bottom: 1em;">If you have an idea for a matchup you would like to see in this series, let us know.
Yahoo is now part of Oath
Ben Rohrbach
,
Yahoo Sports•April 4, 2019
Victors are determined decisively on the court, but one of the great fundamental joys of fandom outside the lines has no clear winner. We love to weigh the merits of our favorite competitors’ accomplishments against each other, and yet a taproom full of basketball fans will never yield a unanimous decision on the GOAT. In this series, we attempt to settle scores of NBA undercard debates — or at least give you fodder for your next “Who was better?” argument." style="margin-bottom: 1em;">Victors are determined decisively on the court, but one of the great fundamental joys of fandom outside the lines has no clear winner. We love to weigh the merits of our favorite competitors’ accomplishments against each other, and yet a taproom full of basketball fans will never yield a unanimous decision on the GOAT. In this series, we attempt to settle scores of NBA undercard debates — or at least give you fodder for your next “Who was better?” argument.
Previously: Dwyane Wade vs. Dirk Nowitzki]
THE MATCHUP: Carmelo Anthony vs. Vince Carter"
Sharing rosters with post-prime stars Allen Iverson, Chauncey Billups and Amar’e Stoudemire, among others, Anthony was always the best player on his teams in that span. During that nine-year run, he led the Denver Nuggets and Knicks to the playoffs each season, save for the last of those years, and he finished top-10 in MVP voting twice, including a third-place finish on a 54-win team in 2012-13.
Likewise, the end of Carter’s prime is up for debate. He still put up numbers while wearing out his welcome at a second stop before the end of it, but his absence from the 2008 All-Star Game signaled he had run his course as a Guy That Mattered. So, we’ll peg his prime from 1999-2007, when for an eight-year run on the Toronto Raptors and New Jersey Nets he averaged 24.6 points (44.6 FG%, 37.9 3P%, 79.4 FT%), 5.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 2.1 combined blocks/steals.
Carter was the man during his Raptors tenure, even though he shared the court with pre-prime Tracy McGrady and Chris Bosh. When he was traded to the Nets, that was Jason Kidd’s team. Carter’s teams made the playoffs in six of his eight prime seasons, missing them in 2003, when a knee injury cost him half his season, and again in 2004, which signaled the beginning of his end in Toronto. (His knee injury also cost him the final 22 regular-season games and the playoffs in 2002.) He never climbed higher than 10th in the MVP voting, finishing exactly there in 2000.
Advantage: Anthony" style="margin-bottom: 1em;">Advantage: Anthony
Career high"
Statistically speaking, Carter’s next season might have been his best. While his other numbers remained fairly consistent, his 27.6 points per game in 2000-01 (on 55.1 percent true shooting) climbed to a truly elite level. It was also the only season in which he was the best player on a team that won a first-round playoff series.
Advantage: Anthony" style="margin-bottom: 1em;">Advantage: Anthony
On a grander playoff scale, Anthony has averaged 24.5 points (41.5 FG%, 30.9 3P%, 82.4 FT%), 7.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.7 blocks/steals in 72 playoff games over 10 appearances (nine straight from 2004-13). His teams twice got out of the first round, reaching the aforementioned 2009 West finals and 2013 East semis. In his prime, Anthony twice lost as a favorite — to Utah and Indiana teams that probably should not have been underdogs in 2010 and 2013, respectively.
Carter has averaged 18.1 points (41.6 FG%, 33.8 3P%, 79.6 FT%), 5.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.6 blocks/steals in 88 playoff games over 11 appearances, although those numbers include six playoff bids in his post-prime years. Carter has played past the first round on five occasions in his career (once when he was his team’s top dog), reaching the 2010 Eastern Conference finals as a second (or third) option on an Orlando Magic team with Dwight Howard at the top of his game.
Advantage: Anthony" style="margin-bottom: 1em;">Advantage: Anthony
Hardware
• Anthony: 10-time All-Star; six-time All-NBA selection (2x Second Team, 4x Third Team); 2013 scoring champion; three-time Olympic gold medalist (2008, 2012, 2016); three-time USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year (2006, 2008, 2016)." style="margin-bottom: 1em;">• Anthony: 10-time All-Star; six-time All-NBA selection (2x Second Team, 4x Third Team); 2013 scoring champion; three-time Olympic gold medalist (2008, 2012, 2016); three-time USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year (2006, 2008, 2016).
• Carter: Eight-time All-Star; two-time All-NBA selection (1x Second Team, 1x Third Team); 1999 Rookie of the Year; 2000 slam dunk champion; Olympic gold medalist (2000)." style="margin-bottom: 1em;">• Carter: Eight-time All-Star; two-time All-NBA selection (1x Second Team, 1x Third Team); 1999 Rookie of the Year; 2000 slam dunk champion; Olympic gold medalist (2000).
That is classic Melo, though. He always took the bird in hand to the detriment of a potential more illustrious career path, including the five-year extension he signed with the Knicks in 2014. Even still, he was an All-NBA talent for six seasons over an eight-year stretch, while Carter never made an All-NBA roster past the age of 24.
Advantage: Anthony" style="margin-bottom: 1em;">Advantage: Anthony
For the culture" style="font-size: 1.3em; margin: 0.5em 0px 1em; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; line-height: 1.3em;">For the culture
Anthony’s legacy is a complicated one, especially if there is not another chapter to be written. Given how quickly his play has plummeted over the past few years (hard to imagine he was an All-Star, albeit an injury replacement, as recently as 2017), Anthony is probably underrated at this point. He was, at his peak, the game’s most prolific scorer, a top-three talent behind two of the 10 best players ever and the best player on a team that might’ve had a real chance to unseat Kobe’s 2009 Lakers in the Western Conference finals had he gotten a little more help in Game 5.
He also won an NCAA title and three gold medals as a bona fide phenomenon, which makes the defining characteristic of his career — that he always seemed more concerned with individual achievement than team success — so puzzling. His late-career refusal to accept less than a star’s role on Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets teams that had real designs on rings if he could have ever accepted that Olympic Melo role in the NBA only reinforces this reputation.
Advantage: Carter" style="margin-bottom: 1em;">Advantage: Carter
THE DAGGER: Carmelo Anthony was better." THE DAGGER: Carmelo Anthony was better.
If you have an idea for a matchup you would like to see in this series, let us know." style="margin-bottom: 1em;">If you have an idea for a matchup you would like to see in this series, let us know.
Yahoo is now part of Oath
