New Los Angeles Lakers forward Carmelo Anthony has done almost everything there is to do in the NBA. The one obvious omission from his resume is winning an NBA Championship, which is the ultimate goal for all players.
Funny enough, the Lakers themselves ended Anthony’s best chance at a Finals run in 2009 as Kobe Bryant led the franchise to a six-game victory over Denver in what was a much tougher series than many remember.
But all of that is behind Anthony now as he is focused solely on finally hoisting the Larry O’Brien trophy, and he understands that it will be a battle to accomplish that.
“Well, like I said, every year we all come into the season saying, ‘Okay, we want to win a championship,’” Anthony said. “How hard it is to get there and to achieve that, that’s on a whole other level. That’s extremely hard to accomplish that.”
“I’m coming in with a championship on my mind. I think that we all know that this is the one thing that I’m missing. This is the one thing that keeps me up at night. It motivates me because I don’t have it. I want that experience.”
For Anthony, however, it’s not just about the end goal but rather the season-long journey to get there. “I’m more excited about the journey of this season, not so much of getting on the court in the game because we’re gonna win games,” Anthony added. “We have to win games; let’s just be quite frank (laughs). We have to win games, but I think everything else that comes along with that.
The journey and learning these guys a little bit more and seeing the work ethic and being in the locker room and on the team bus and the team plane. Building a bond and camaraderie to the point where it’s like nothing can affect us. Anything in the outside world cannot affect us, and I think for me, that’s the most important part that I’m looking forward to.
Regardless of whether they’ve been in the league two years or 10, everyone on the Lakers roster is focused on that one singular goal of winning a championship. But it might not mean more to anyone than Carmelo Anthony.
George Karl takes shot at Carmelo Anthony on Twitter
In order to do his part in accomplishing that goal, Anthony will have to thrive in his role on the team. But his former head coach remains dubious about his ability to do things other than score.
George Karl, who coached Anthony on the Denver Nuggets, took a shot at Carmelo on Twitter about his lack of defense and desire to play team basketball.
Now 10 years removed from their time together, it seems as if Karl still harbors some resentment towards his former star player.