After becoming the first man to win three Olympic gold medals in basketball Saturday with a 99-66 blowout of Serbia, Carmelo Anthony hung up his Team USA sneakers.
"It was a special moment for me," Anthony said in an emotional interview with NBC Sports after wrapping up his fourth Olympic run. "I know this is the end. This is it for me."
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Anthony played 18 minutes in the championship game, scoring seven points and hauling in seven rebounds. The team captain was a valuable member offensively and defensively throughout the tournament, and has been one of the faces of USA Basketball for over a decade.
"I committed to this in '04," said Anthony, who would be 36 for Tokyo 2020. "I've seen the worst and I've seen the best. I'm here today three gold medals later."
The U.S. men's basketball team has now won a gold medal in six of the last seven Olympics, settling for bronze in Anthony's first year on the team in 2004, but it appears they will need to find a new team leader moving forward.
"This is what it's about. Representing your country on the biggest stage that you can be on." - @carmeloanthony pic.twitter.com/74qo5LloBX
— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) August 21, 2016