Jim Boeheim has seen Carmelo Anthony win some big games throughout his career, but Syracuse's basketball coach does not think Anthony will ever win an NBA championship.
"He's unlikely to win an NBA title,'' Boeheim, who coached Anthony to an NCAA title with Syracuse in 2003, told Syracuse.com Tuesday. "He's never been on a team that even had a remote chance of winning an NBA title.
"As a player, all you can do is try to make your team better, and every team he's been on he's made them a lot better. Denver hadn't done anything prior to him getting there and he took them into the playoffs. They weren't going to beat the Lakers or the Spurs. In those years, they won the championship most of the time."
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Anthony, 32, was successful with the Denver Nuggets early in his career, ultimately making the playoffs 10 straight seasons. But he has advanced past the first round just twice, and he has failed to make the postseason the last three seasons as a member of the New York Knicks.
"He wants to win in New York," Boeheim said. "I know the general opinion is if [new additions Joakim] Noah and [Derrick] Rose are healthy then they'll be a better team. It's just a question of if they will be healthy. They've been off and on the last two years. They've both been hurt. I think if both those guys are healthy, it certainly would make a big difference and [Kristaps] Porzingis continuing to progress. If those things happen, they can be better.''
With an NCAA title and three Olympic gold medals already on his resume, Anthony is comfortable with what he's accomplished with basketball career.
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"Most athletes don't have an opportunity to say that they won a gold medal, better yet three gold medals," Anthony told ESPN.com recently. "I would be very happy walking away from the game knowing that I've given the game everything I have, knowing I played on a high level at every level: high school, college, won [a championship at Syracuse] in college and possibly three gold medals.
"I can look back on it when my career is over -- if I don't have an NBA championship ring -- and say I had a great career."