Carmelo Anthony remembers Kobe Bryant with emotional message on 5th death anniversary

Carmelo Anthony remembered Kobe Bryant on his fifth death anniversary on Sunday. The former NBA star shared a picture of himself alongside the Lakers legend on his X, formerly Twitter, handle.

The picture featured Anthony and Bryant wearing the Team USA jersey from their time together on the 2012 national team. Anthony expressed his thoughts on the Lakers legend in his post's caption:

"Sometimes you never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory."

Carmelo Anthony and Kobe Bryant played alongside each other twice in their careers. They first suited up together on the 2008 national team, more popularly known as "The Redeem Team." They played together for the second time on the 2012 team.

Despite not being on the same franchise in the NBA, Melo and the Mamba were close friends. They both had illustrious careers in the league and cemented themselves as two of the best players to step foot on an NBA court.

Carmelo Anthony never won an NBA championship in his career but earned 10 All-Star nominations and was the 2013 NBA scoring champion. On the other hand, Kobe Bryant won five championships along with 18 All-Star nominations.

Melo retired from professional basketball on May 22, 2023, while the Black Mamba hung up his boots on April 13, 2016. However, four years after his retirement, on Jan. 26, 2020, Bryant died in a tragic helicopter crash along with his teenage daughter, Gianna Bryant.

Carmelo Anthony confirms Adrian Woj's claim about Kobe Bryant wanting to join the NY Knicks

On the Dec. 7 episode of the "7PM in Brooklyn" podcast, former ESPN's NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski joined Carmelo Anthony to talk about his life after ESPN, his relationship with Kobe Bryant and more. During one segment of the podcast, Wojnarowski revealed that Bryant was sure he would play for the NY Knicks.

Anthony, who was sitting beside him, quickly chimed in to confirm the former NBA insider's claim.

"This is real s**t," he said.

Wojnarowski said Bryant believed the Lakers would cut him out at one point, and he would go and join the Knicks. However, that did not happen as the Black Mamba retired wearing purple and gold.

The former insider also said Bryant always dreamed of playing at the Garden on a regular basis and Anthony chimed in again to confirm it.

"That's all he talked about," he said.

Lastly, Wojnarowski said Bryant loved Carmelo Anthony and often defended the former Knicks star during their conversations.