"Worst pickup game I’ve ever seen" - Carmelo Anthony & Dwyane Wade mock Joe Budden's hilarious self-lob attempt during open scrimmage

Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade didn’t hold back as they relentlessly mocked rapper and media personality Joe Budden for his pickup game performance during his podcast’s basketball showdown. Despite previously co-hosting the 7PM in Brooklyn podcast, Budden wasn’t spared from their jokes.

As they watched Budden attempt to orchestrate the offense, the two NBA legends couldn’t contain their laughter.

Anthony didn't hold back in his critique, humorously remarking on the game's poor quality and particularly highlighting one play of Budden's, where he tried to bounce the ball off the backboard, catch it and attempt a shot.

"I think that's the worst pick-up game I've ever seen,” he said. “Tell me that was a skit."

"I f**k with the fact that Joe Budden actually thought he was athletic enough to step through off the backboard and catch it. Nah."

The Joe Budden Podcast pickup game, live streamed for Patreon subscribers, featured teams made up of co-hosts Marc Lamont Hill, Richard Parks Vallely and Emanny Salgado on one team, while Budden and Antwan Marby led the other.

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Carmelo Anthony calls out ‘politics’ in McDonald’s All American Games

During Thursday’s episode of 7PM in Brooklyn, Carmelo Anthony criticized the selection process for the McDonald’s All American Games, calling out the "politics" behind his son Kiyan Anthony’s snub from the prestigious roster.

Kiyan, a highly regarded prospect in the 2025 class, plays for Long Island Lutheran High School, where he averaged 10.3 points, 2.4 assists and 2.3 rebounds per game.

"Anthony family once again gets jerked," Carmelo said. "I think he deserved to make it. No bias s**t. I think he really put the work in and really deserved to be a McDonald's All-American." (Timestamp - 27:48)

He then reflected on his own experience as a top-ranked high school player, suggesting that politics played a role in Kiyan's exclusion:

"The politics that you have to deal with today — the fact that I was a #1 player and I had all that and I built that, you have to deal with some of that today."

In November, Kiyan committed to Syracuse, the same school where Carmelo Anthony led the Orange to a national championship and earned NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player honors before entering the NBA as the No. 3 pick in 2003.

The 6-foot-5 wing prospect is set to graduate this year.