Carmelo Anthony After Passing Hakeem Olajuwon: 'The Joy Is Back'
Carmelo Anthony has made history again on Saturday. The future Hall-of-Famer passed Hakeem Olajuwon to become the NBA's 11th all-time leading scorer, finishing Portland's game against the Minnesota Timberwolves with 26,955 career points.
It won't be long until Anthony moves up another spot on the list, either. 'Melo is 358 points behind Elvin Hayes; he'll catch the ABA-NBA great in the next 20 games or so.
Making Anthony's achievement all the better is that it came in perhaps his best game in a Blazers uniform. He scored 26 points and doled out six assists in Portland's 125-121 victory over Minnesota, saving his team from an ugly loss with a series of late-game scores and assists.
"I can't put it into words, honestly," he said of passing Olajuwon. "It's a great feeling to know that I'm still able to do this, continue having the opportunity to move up on that list. Anytime anybody can start creeping onto top-10 lists, that's when things start getting special."
After a rough start to his second season in Rip City, Anthony has righted the ship to emerge as a cog of the Blazers' surprising success absent C.J. McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic. He's been especially hot of late, averaging 21.2 points on 43.3 percent three-point shooting in Portland's last five games.
Not bad for a player who was out of the league less than a year-and-a-half ago.
Anthony's made no secret of the toll those doomed stints with the Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder took on his psyche. But after moving up another rung on the scoring charts while leading the Blazers to victory, 'Melo confirmed what's been obvious about his play of late – the "joy" inspiring it.
"I enjoy playing the game. I actually still love the game. That joy is there – it's back," he said. "It's been a challenge over the past couple years, that joy, but it's back now. I'm enjoying the game, having fun playing the game of basketball."
Rip City sure is having fun watching him, too.