Nearly a year after he played his last game in the NBA, Carmelo Anthony is set to make his return to the league with the Portland Trail Blazers, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Portland is signing Carmelo Anthony, league source tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 15, 2019
As per Woj, Anthony's much-awaited return to the league will be on a non-guaranteed deal. The Blazers will be the fifth franchise that Anthony will suit up for and the fourth in the last four seasons.
With Melo set to join the team for the upcoming six-game road trip, here's a look at the seven must-see Anthony games over the remainder of the 2019-20 season:
Nov. 28 vs. OKC Thunder
Before his time in Houston, Anthony was traded by the Knicks to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Who can forget his press conference at the beginning of the 2017-18 season when a reporter asked him if he had considered coming off the bench?
His lone season with the team, which also included Russell Westbrook and Paul George, ended in the first round of the NBA Playoffs at the hands of the Utah Jazz. That following offseason, he was traded to the Atlanta Hawks, who later waived him which allowed him to sign with the Rockets as a free agent.
Anthony will face-off against good friend Chris Paul in this contest, which is the Blazers' first home game after the six-game road trip. It's the second of four games the Thunder and Blazers will play this season.
Dec. 7 vs. Los Angeles Lakers
Anthony's off-court friendship with LeBron James has been well-documented. Both small forwards were picked in the famous Draft class of 2003 and for the first decade of their careers were measured alongside each other.
A recent report suggested that Anthony was expected to sign with the Lakers late last season but the deal never came through.
The duo will face-off once again when the Blazers host the Lakers in early December. The game against the Lakers is the second of a four-game homestand for the Blazers. It's the first of three against the Lakers.
Dec. 13 @ Denver
Anthony played out the first seven-plus seasons of his career representing the Denver Nuggets. With the franchise, he made it to seven straight playoffs from 2004 to 2010 including a Conference Finals appearance in 2009.
He ranks in the top 10 of multiple all-time franchise records such as games played, minutes played, points scored, and total rebounds.
This game is the first of a two-game road trip for the Blazers and is the second of the four-game season series between both teams.
Jan. 2 @ New York
Three seasons since the Knicks traded him, Anthony has returned to Madison Square Garden as an opponent just once.
The Mecca of Basketball, the Garden surely holds plenty of memories for Anthony including his career performance of 62 points in 2014.
In his short six-plus seasons with the franchise, which is one of the oldest in the league, he entered their top 10 scoring ranks. For the Blazers, the game is the first of a five-game road trip to start 2020.
Jan. 16 @ Houston
No surprises here.
Anthony's last stint in the league came when he played 10 games last season with the Houston Rockets before the franchise decided to part ways. They eventually traded him to the Chicago Bulls this past January.
Other than the 10 games last year, Anthony had also previously played for Mike D'Antoni, the current Houston Rockets head coach, for a season and a half (2010-12) while with the New York Knicks.
Jan. 18 @ Dallas
Now with the Dallas Mavericks, Latvian Kristaps Porzingis played alongside Anthony for the first two seasons of his NBA career for the Knicks.
For just the second time since then, the duo will face-off against each other. A lot has changed since they last competed against each other - Oct. 19, 2017.
This game is the second of a three-game road trip for the Blazers.
Mar. 31 @ Brooklyn
Nearly a year before it was reported that he would sign with the Blazers, came Anthony's last significant performance. It came in Brooklyn against the Nets.
Towards the end of this season, Anthony returns to the Brooklyn, where he scored a season-high 28 points (9-12 FGs) in a 119-111 win for the Rockets last November.
Later that season, Anthony returned to the Barclays Center for the final game of Dwyane Wade's career. He sat on the sidelines alongside LeBron and Chris Paul to support his good friend.
For the Blazers, this game is the last of six-game East-heavy road trip.
