Denver Nuggets legend Carmelo Anthony remembered Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant on his fifth death anniversary on Sunday, January 26. Anthony shared a picture of himself and Bryant on his X handle (formerly known as Twitter). Kobe Bryant died on January 26 2020 in a helicopter crash.
What did Carmelo Anthony share for Kobe Bryant?
The picture that Carmelo Anthony shared had both himself and Kobe Bryant wearing the Team USA jersey from the 2012 national team. Anthony expressed his thoughts with an emotional message that read,
Sometimes you never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.
Carmelo Anthony and Kobe Bryant only played alongside twice during their playing careers. The first occasion was with the 2008 national team which is famously known as the 'Redeem Team' and the second occasion was with the 2012 squad.
Being a part of different teams didn't prevent Melo and Mamba from being close friends. Both of them have an illustrious career and numerous achievements to their name.
Carmelo Anthony was never able to win an NBA championship but had 10 All-Star nominations and was the 2013 NBA scoring champion. Whereas, Kobe Bryant was able to win five championships teaming up with 18 All-Star nominations.
Anthony hung up his boots on May 22, 2024, and Mamba retired from the game on April 13, 2016. Four years after he stopped playing ball, he died in a helicopter crash alongside his teenage daughter, Gianna Bryant.
Carmelo Anthony drops truth bombs on Adrian Wojnarowski's claims about Kobe Bryant joining the New York Knicks
On the December 7th episode of the '7PM in Brooklyn' podcast, Adrian Wojnarowski, former ESPN NBA insider, joined Carmelo Anthony to talk about his life after ESPN, his relationship with Bryant etc. It was in that episode that Wojnarowski revealed Bryant knew he would play for the New York Knicks.
Anthony was quick to respond and confirmed the insider's claim.
This is real s**t, he said.
Wojnarowski said that Bryant felt that Lakers would let go of him at one certain point and he would then join the Knicks. But, that was not the case as Mamba retired from the Lakers.
Wojnarowski also claimed that Bryant dreamt of playing at the Garden regularly and again Anthony confirmed his claim.
That's all he talked about, he said.
In the end, Wojnarowski mentioned that Anthony and Bryant had deep affection for each other.