Carmelo Anthony Retires, Ending Legendary 19-Year NBA Career

An all-2000s NBA player decided to officially retire.

In a heartfelt goodbye video, longtime NBA forward Carmelo Anthony — an elite scorer and perennial All-Star — announced his retirement from the NBA after 19 seasons.

Now, it may be a head-scratching name since most of us assumed Anthony was already retired, now a year removed from NBA basketball.

Melo made it official Monday. And the NBA said goodbye to an unfailingly impressive player.

Anthony posted a 108-second video, highlighting his time in Denver, New York and other teams he stopped by in his near-20-year career.

WATCH:

Anthony built a Hall of Fame legacy as the star of the Denver Nuggets and New York Knicks from 2003 to 2017.

Averaging 22.5 points in 1,260 regular-season games, Anthony kept a job in the NBA for his knack to score and veteran maturity.

A 10-time All-Star and three-time Team USA gold medalist, Anthony was in the company of the NBA's peak celebrity from the 2000s to the 2010s.

Melo's team braced against teams like Tim Duncan's Spurs, Kobe Bryant's Lakers, Boston's Big Three and LeBron James in a Cavs or Heat jersey.

Drafted in the same class as LeBron James in 2003, Anthony came up in a star-filled NBA space, first gaining attention in Denver under woke crybaby George Karl (though Karl joined in 2005).

A trade from the Nuggets in 2011 spawned a new chapter in his strong career — Carmelo Anthony joined the Knicks to be their new star. Anthony averaged a career-high 28.3 points in his third season with NY but suffered under the Knickerbockers' dysfunction. He made the playoffs with the Knicks in just three of seven seasons. Overall, Anthony appeared in the postseason in 13 of his 19 seasons. Melo wasn't memorable for his postseasons, but his status as an elite NBA scorer garnered plenty of respect.

Even in his last days with LA, Anthony proved a capable scorer — averaging 13.3 points in 26 minutes of action per game. Equally impressive was his flexibility to come off the bench for the Lakers.

After one season with the Lakers (69 games), Carmelo took a year off from basketball before making his announcement. In the video, Anthony touched on a desire to watch his 16-year-old son Kiyan Anthony develop into an elite basketball player.

Figures that the Lakers would convince an All-Time great to retire ... probably won't be the last one.

Happy Trails, Melo.