The Los Angeles Lakers faithful widely celebrated Carmelo Anthony’s signing with the team, hoping his experience and skills could propel L.A. to the championship.
Although the Lakers never came close to competing for the title, L.A.’s players, coaches, and fans kept celebrating Anthony’s presence on the roster throughout the season. A massive standing ovation welcomed the future Hall-of-Famer during his home debut. Players spoke about his inspiring NBA return and coaches discussed his leadership and positive influence on the team.
In addition to his stature, the 38-year-old became a major part of the Lakers’ rotation. Anthony fully embraced the sixth man role and emerged as a lethal catch-and-shoot threat — making over 40% of his triples in the first six weeks of the season.
Although Anthony cooled down in the second part of 2021-22, he still finished the campaign with a 3-point shooting rate of 37.5%. He averaged 13.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 0.8 blocks in 69 games.
2021-22 Highlight
Anthony went off in a three-point overtime win over the Charlotte Hornets in early November. The veteran forward knocked down seven triples, scoring 29 points to help L.A. out-duel the young Hornets. That included a crucial go-ahead three in transition, regaining the lead for the Lakers after they fell four points behind earlier in overtime.
2022-23 Outlook
Anthony has provided only vague answers to questions about his future. Reports claim the Lakers would be the frontrunners to securing his services for another year if they decided to bring the veteran back. That seems like a no-brainer considering how valuable a rotation player Anthony proved himself to be in 2021-22, plus his close relationship with LeBron James.
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