Top 5 scorers for Team USA Basketball in the Olympics in the 21st Century

2. Carmelo Anthony - 239 points (2004, 2008, 2012)

That’s one scary gun-slinger right there

With his participation in the 2016 Olympics, Carmelo Anthony will become the most decorated USA basketball player of all time in the Olympics. He will be the only one to win four medals if USA wins one this time.

Although the league revolves around Stephen Curry and LeBron James and the evergreen San Antonio Spurs, the New York Knicks harbor one of the purest scorers of all time in Carmelo Anthony. He's seen his game slow down a notch with ankle and knee injuries, but he has still kept his game butter smooth and razor sharp.

Melo's jumper is a thing of beauty, and he's able to score from either block at will. He made his Olympic debut just a year after being drafted, but it wasn't a glorious outing for Team USA.

Carmelo recalls the losing experience, “It wasn’t a good experience. It wasn’t a good feeling. But I think it helped me. I think it helped our country to enjoy what we’re feeling now. I don’t want to feel what it’s like not winning a gold medal.”

Carmelo averaged 2.1, 11.5 and 16.2 points per game in 2004, 2008 and 2012. He now finds himself in the role which Kobe Bryant had shouldered recently for Team USA, that of the elderly mentor who's been there and done that.