"Would've gone on to win at least three championships" - Chauncey Billups rues Pistons snubbing Carmelo Anthony as ringless legend enters Hall of Fame

Chauncey Billups rues Pistons snubbing Carmelo Anthony as ringless legend enters Hall of Fame
Chauncey Billups rues Pistons snubbing Carmelo Anthony as ringless legend enters Hall of Fame (Credits: Getty)

Carmelo Anthony, one of the NBA’s all-time scoring leaders, will be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame this weekend, headlining this year's class alongside Dwight Howard. Anthony enjoyed an impressive 19-season career before announcing his retirement in 2023. He finished with 1,260 games, averaging 22.5 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists.

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With Anthony’s Hall of Fame induction getting closer, NBA champion Chauncey Billups can’t help but wonder how Melo’s career would’ve played out if Detroit had drafted him. The Pistons held the No. 2 pick in the 2003 draft, a class that included Anthony, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.

James went first to the Cleveland Cavaliers, while the Pistons selected Darko Milicic, as Carmelo Anthony fell third to the Denver Nuggets. On Wednesday on ESPN, Billups wondered about one of the greatest what-ifs in NBA history.

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“I really do believe that had we drafted Melo that year, we would've gone on to win at least three championships," Billups said.

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The Pistons made back-to-back NBA Finals appearances in 2004 and 2005, winning against the Lakers the first year before losing to the San Antonio Spurs. If the team had a scorer at the level of Carmelo Anthony, that series and both the Pistons and the players' trajectory during the early 2000s would’ve been completely different.

Anthony spent the first 14 seasons of his career playing for the Denver Nuggets and the New York Knicks, failing to lead both teams past the conference semifinals. He went on to play for the OKC Thunder, Houston Rockets, Portland Trail Blazers and LA Lakers before retiring.

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In contrast, the Pistons' pick, Milicic, was one of the biggest NBA draft busts of all time. He started only two games in three years in Detroit and was a journeyman, playing for seven franchises in 10 years.


Carmelo Anthony is a first-ballot Hall of Famer despite never winning an NBA Championship

Many fans speculate that Carmelo Anthony's inclusion in the Naismith Hall of Fame is a result of his title win with Syracuse in 2003. However, even without the NCAA championship, Anthony did more than enough through his 19-season NBA career to warrant a place in the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Regarded as one of the game's best scorers, Anthony retired with 28,289 points, making him the 10th-highest scorer in NBA history. While others from his draft class achieved success in the form of championships, Anthony blazed his own path and became known for his deadly scoring ability. He is also appreciated by many for revitalizing the Knicks during the 2010s.

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Edited by Sameer Khan
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