Stephen A Smith ridicules NBA and basketball great Carmelo Anthony for his recent comments regarding the NBA title and his Olympic medals.

Carmelo Anthony and Stephen A Smith

Stephen A Smith doesn’t hold back from letting his thoughts be known on live TV. Falling victim to the TV host’s latest rant was Carmelo Anthony. Melo’s recent comments regarding an NBA title and his Olympic Gold medals have gathered a lot of attention from the basketball community. However, this did not go down well with Stephen A Smith.

Smith, after making sure to let the world know he was a die-hard New York Knicks fan, ripped on his ‘dear friend’ Carmelo Anthony. The 3x medal winner’s take about not exchanging his Olympic gold medals for an NBA title nearly was simply branded as “ridiculous” by the ESPN host.

“I almost cried when I heard that Carmelo [Anthony] said that, That is maybe the most ridiculous comment I've ever heard come out of his mouth, and everybody knows how much I love my man Melo. I couldn't believe he said something so utterly ridiculous. That was just ridiculous for him to say."

Stephen A Smith via First Take

“I almost cried when I heard that Carmelo [Anthony] said that [he wouldn’t trade his gold medals for an NBA title]. That is maybe the most ridiculous comment I’ve ever heard come out of his mouth.”

Stephen A. Smith on Melo’s recent comments 😳pic.twitter.com/PfImxJ0JaO https://t.co/9zkGFeL3X2

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) August 14, 2024

Furthermore, Smith may be stating this solely since Anthony never won a title with the Knicks, or he might think that winning an NBA title is more important than winning three gold medals. On the other hand, Anthony was a powerhouse for his nation, Team USA in the Olympic events and built a huge legacy with USA basketball before retiring from the sport.

‘Melo’ also made sure to bless 2024 Team USA with more than just his presence at the Paris Olympics. Anthony was vocal from the court-side seats with his son, Kiyan, and was constantly acknowledged by the stars.

Carmelo Anthony made a bold statement regarding Team USA and Michael Jordan

Basketball icon Carmelo Anthony has been one of the best players in his nation, winning 3 Olympic Gold medals for the USA. Notably, in a recent interview with BasketNews, Anthony was questioned regarding his all-time starting five for Team USA. To everyone’s surprise, Anthony picked the likes of LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant, and himself and left out the NBA legend, Michael Jordan for an ex-MVP.

“Myself, [Kevin] Durant, LeBron [James], and then I would have to go to Kobe [Bryant]. Michael Jordan would be that, but for USA, I would put [Charles] Barkley. That would be my five.”

Carmelo Anthony via BasketNews

It’s worth mentioning that during the time Anthony was requested to compile these lists, he was deliberately instructed to remove NBA accomplishments. If Anthony had to choose both, Jordan would very certainly be included in his starting lineup