Carmelo Anthony Named Player of the Week for First Time Since 2014

After helping to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a 3-0 record last week, Carmelo Anthony was named Western Conference Player of the Week by the NBA.

During Portland’s three-game winning streak, Anthony has averaged 22.3 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists while shooting 57.4 percent from the field, 45.5 percent from 3-point land and 88.9 percent from the line.

The last time Anthony won Player of the Week honors was in March of 2014 when he was playing in the Eastern Conference for the New York Knicks.

Western Conference Player of the Week: @carmeloanthony ‼️

Congrats, Melo!

🔗: https://t.co/60diVMwH2K pic.twitter.com/CLHCpzQeTh

— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) December 2, 2019

Overall, it is the 19th time in his 17-season career that Anthony has received a Conference Player of the Week honor.

“Carmelo Anthony has just been named the NBA’s Western Conference Player of the Week,” ESPN’s Rachel Nichols tweeted. “No matter what happens from here, that’s flat-out remarkable and says a tremendous amount about not just what he’s still got, basketball-wise, but his mental discipline as well.”

In Anthony’s six games with the Blazers, the team has gone 3-3. Prior to inking a non-guaranteed contract with Portland, the 10-time All-Star had not played since he suited up for the Rockets in November 2018.

Of course, as with any award that’s handed out, not everyone was in agreement that it was deserved.

Carmelo Anthony wins Western Conference Player of the Week after scoring 67 points in 3 games.

James Harden, who scored 60 points in 3 quarters this weekend: pic.twitter.com/I4uj6DqhoY

— Jeff Eisenband (@JeffEisenband) December 2, 2019

Portland will take on the Los Angeles Clippers and Anthony’s former Oklahoma City Thunder teammate Paul George on Tuesday.

Looking ahead to the matchup, George said he was happy to see Anthony back in the NBA and criticized some of the negative attention — which was mostly due to the poor shot selection and defense he displayed during limited minutes last season with the Rockets — his return generated

“I just hate the narratives that’s created by him being back,” George said. “Melo has been a great player, he’s going to be a great player, he’s playing terrific from start to finish, and shoutout to Portland for opening that door back up for Melo and prolonging his career.”

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