"Would've gone on to win at least three championships" - Chauncey Billups rues Pistons snubbing Carmelo Anthony as ringless legend enters Hall of Fame

Chauncey Billups rues Pistons snubbing Carmelo Anthony as ringless legend enters Hall of Fame
Chauncey Billups rues Pistons snubbing Carmelo Anthony as ringless legend enters Hall of Fame (Credits: Getty)

Carmelo Anthony, one of the NBA’s all-time scoring leaders, will be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame this weekend, headlining this year's class alongside Dwight Howard. Anthony enjoyed an impressive 19-season career in the league before announcing his retirement in 2023. He finished with 1,260 games, averaging 22.5 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists for his career.

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With Carmelo Anthony’s Hall of Fame induction getting closer, NBA champion Chauncey Billups can’t help but wonder how Melo’s career would’ve played out if he had been drafted to Detroit. The Pistons held the No. 2 pick in the 2003 draft, a class that included him, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and more.

James went first to the Cleveland Cavaliers, while the Pistons selected Darko Milicic, as Anthony fell third to the Denver Nuggets. Speaking to ESPN on Wednesday, Chauncey Billups expressed that Anthony could’ve won three championships if the Pistons hadn’t missed out:

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“I really do believe that had we drafted Melo that year, we would've gone on to win at least three championships," Billups said.

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The Pistons made back-to-back NBA Finals appearances in 2004 and 2005, winning against the Lakers the first year before losing to the San Antonio Spurs. If the team had a scorer at the level of Carmelo Anthony, that series and both the Pistons and the players' trajectory during the early 2000s would’ve been completely different.

Anthony spent the first 14 seasons of his career playing for the Denver Nuggets and the New York Knicks, failing to lead both teams past the conference semifinals. He went on to play for the OKC Thunder, Houston Rockets, Portland Trail Blazers and LA Lakers before retiring.

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Carmelo Anthony is a first-ballot Hall of Famer despite never winning an NBA Championship

Many fans speculate that Carmelo Anthony's inclusion in the Naismith Hall of Fame is a result of his title win with Syracuse in 2003. However, even without the NCAA national championship, Anthony did more than enough through his 19-season NBA career to warrant a place in the basketball Hall of Fame.

Regarded as one of the best scorers in the game's history, Anthony retired with the 10th most points in NBA history, scoring 28,289 career points. While others from his draft class achieved success in the form of championships, Anthony blazed his own path and became known for his deadly scoring ability. He is also appreciated by many for revitalizing the Knicks during the 2010s.

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Edited by Sameer Khan
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