Carmelo’s legacy is an interesting one. He’s one of the best natural scorers we’ve ever seen. He’s an elite talent and he can hang with the best of him but the biggest gripes against him are that he doesn’t play defense and he’s selfish.
It’s one thing for us as fans to say things like that but when one of Melo’s teammates comes out and says it rings a little differently.
His teammate during his Nuggets days, Nene had an interview with Canal Chuá and explains how his selfish ways stopped him from being one of the greats.
The video is in Portguese but the part about Melo is translated below.
Tell me a little bit about Carmelo Anthony, one of the best scorers I’ve ever seen.
Nene: “Carmelo man… He’s a guy who could’ve been the best player in the League—the way he uses his body, the accuracy on his shots, the variation of dribbles and shots that he has, and his low-post fundamentals…”
He’s insane in the post. His jab step is the best in the League.
Nene: “Yeah he is simply the best down there, but he’s just too selfish. He can’t make his teammates better. If he did that, he could’ve been the best in the League. Oh, and if he played defense… Because he knows how to guard people, I played with him for 8 years, so I know.”
How do you feel about Nene saying this about a former teammate considering most just go with the “he’s great at what he does etc”?