Carmelo Anthony: Stars Couldn't Overpower Me One-on-One

Carmelo Anthony argued that he was not regularly overpowered in one-on-one defense against great stars throughout his career. Speaking on the 7PM in Brooklyn program, the former forward recalled his matchups against names such as Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Vince Carter and Paul Pierce.

Anthony said he always took the court with extra concentration against star players. In his view, preparing for such opponents was not difficult. What was more exhausting were players who, instead of the superstars who constantly held the ball, found space through off-ball movement and scored without drawing attention.

Giving an example, Anthony said he was surprised when he realized that a player he was guarding had scored 13 points. He said players who cut from the baseline, slipped behind him and stayed open when help defense came were even more frustrating.

Anthony added that he could not recall an opponent in his career who consistently punished him in one-on-one matchups. Still, it would be wrong to read these words as meaning that opposing stars did not produce high scoring against his team.