Former NBA superstar Carmelo Anthony announced his retirement on May 22, but he had other opportunities to continue his basketball career. Several top European leagues extended offers to Anthony before he chose to retire, per a report from Marc Stein.
Anthony did not play in the NBA this past season, and according to Stein, he got "top-level European interest" throughout the year. However, Anthony's heart was set on playing one more season at the NBA level, and he elected to call it a career when nothing materialized.
"Carmelo Anthony badly wanted one last shot in the NBA," Stein wrote. "A job this season somewhere - anywhere - would have enabled him to say that he played in #thisleague for 20 seasons, which certainly has a sweeter sound than 19."
Anthony likely would have made good money in Europe, but he had already established himself as one of the best players in his generation in large part because of his time with the Denver Nuggets and New York Knicks. Anthony's 28,289 points rank ninth on the NBA's all-time list, he was a 10-time All-Star, and he won three gold medals with Team USA.
The only thing Anthony didn't do in his prolific career was win an NBA championship. As a result, Anthony will go down as one of the greatest players never to win a title, alongside Charles Barkley, Steve Nash, and Karl Malone.
