LeBron, Durant, NBA community reacts to Carmelo Anthony retirement

US forward Carmelo Anthony (L) and US fo
TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/GettyImages
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After 19 NBA seasons of a first-ballot Hall of Fame career, Carmelo Anthony officially announced his retirement.

Always one of the most popular and respected players around the NBA, tributes poured in from players, teams, former coaches and more. That started with his close friend LeBron James, who posted an Instagram story.

Kevin Durant also used Instagram stories to pay tribute in a hysterical way.

Beyond those two stars, tributes poured in, here is just a sampling.

NBA legend Carmelo Anthony officially retires from NBA

Carmelo Anthony Denver
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For 19 seasons, Carmelo Anthony was among the greatest bucket-getters the NBA has ever seen.

A fan favorite in Denver (at least before the trade), New York and around the league, ‘Melo was one of the great tough shot makers ever to play in the league. With that he had 14 seasons averaging at least 20 points a game and is ninth on the NBA all-time scoring list.

Monday, Anthony officially announced his retirement from the NBA in a moving video ode to his son.

“I remember the days when I had nothing, just a ball on the court and a dream of something more. But basketball was my outlet, my purpose was strong, my communities, the cities I represented with pride, and the fans that supported me along the way. I am forever grateful for those people and places, because they made me Carmelo Anthony.

“But now the time has come for me to say goodbye — to the court where I made my name, to the game that gave me purpose and pride. But this bittersweet goodbye to the NBA, I am excited about what the future holds for me. When people ask what I believe my legacy is, it’s not my feats on the court that come to mind, nor the awards or praise, because my story has always been more than basketball.”

Anthony, whose last NBA season was with the Lakers, is a lock first-ballot Hall of Famer with an impeachable resume: A member of the 75th Anniversary Team (the 75 greatest players of all-time), he was a 10-time All-Star and six-time All-NBA player who also was the 2013 scoring champion.

His hoop resume extends beyond the NBA, having led Syracuse to a national championship in 2003, and he won three Olympic gold medals as part of Team USA (Olympic ‘Melo may have been the best ‘Melo and his 336 points total in the Games are second all-time for Team USA).

Off the court, Anthony was genuine and incredibly popular with both teammates and the media because he was always authentic. He was also active in social justice movements — such as teaming with Chris Paul and LeBron James on the Social Change Fund — an was part of a generation of athletes willing to use their voice and platform on such causes.

Anthony’s next basketball step will be the Hall of Fame.

San Antonio Spurs win NBA Draft Lottery, will be home to Wembanyama

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The San Antonio Spurs have made two No.1 picks in franchise history. First in 1987 when they selected The Admiral David Robinson. Ten years later 1997 they drafted Tim Duncan with the No.1 pick. From there the franchise formed a dynasty that went on to win five championships and make an indelible mark on the NBA.

Now the Spurs could be on top of the NBA for the next decade after winning the 2023 NBA Draft Lottery, and with it the right to draft projected franchise cornerstone player Victor Wembanyama with that top pick.

“This is a player’s league, the players are what drives us all, so I can imagine [how this impacts the franchise],” Peter J. Holt, the Spurs managing partner, said when asked if he could imagine how much this would impact the franchise, reminding everyone they did draft Robinson and Duncan. 

This is also a win for the French star Wembanyama, who goes to a stable organization known for developing talent — and one with a deep connection to France thanks to Spurs legend Tony Parker. Plus, there is no better coach for his first couple of years in the NBA than Gregg Popovich.

Here is how the NBA Draft Lottery shook out.

1. San Antonio Spurs
2. Charlotte Hornets
3. Portland Trail Blazers
4. Houston Rockets
5. Detroit Pistons
6. Orlando Magic
7. Indiana Pacers
8. Washington Wizards
9. Utah Jazz
10. Dallas Mavericks
11. Orlando Magic (via Chicago)
12. Oklahoma City Thunder
13. Toronto Raptors
14. New Orleans Pelicans

Some other notes from how the NBA Draft lottery broke down.

• The Detroit Pistons were the biggest losers of the day, falling as far as they possibly could with the worst regular season record in the league to the No. 5 pick.

• The Charlotte Hornets will pick second, where most teams have either guard Scoot Henderson or wing Brandon Miller next on their boards. With the Hornets already having a dynamic ball handler at the point in LaMelo Ball, will they select Miller and let Henderson slide to Portland (where he would play next to Damian Lillard)?

• Portland may not make that No.3 pick. League sources have told NBC Sports the Trail Blazers want to make a big splash trade to get another star next to Lillard. Packaging the No.3 pick with some of their other young talent such as Shaedon Sharpe and/or Anfernee Simons could land that kind of player.

• Everything from pick No.6 to 14 followed form, which matched how they finished the season.

• The Dallas Mavericks’ late-season tanking was rewarded, nobody leapfrogged them so they get to keep their first-round pick (it was owed to the Knicks but top-10 protected). Don’t be surprised if the Mavericks attempt to trade the pick to bring in more immediate help around Luka Dončić.

• The Chicago Bulls did not jump up into the top four, so their pick at No. 12 belongs to the Orlando Magic (part of the Nikola Vucevic trade).

• Here is what the rest of the first round looks like

15. Atlanta Hawks
16. Utah Jazz (via Minnesota)
17. Los Angeles Lakers
18. Miami Heat
19. Houston Rockets (via Los Angeles Clippers)
20. Golden State Warriors
21. Brooklyn Nets (via Phoenix)
22. Brooklyn Nets
23. Portland Trail Blazers (via New York)
24. Sacramento Kings
25. Memphis Grizzlies
26. Indiana Pacers (via Cleveland)
27. Charlotte Hornets (via Denver)
28. Utah Jazz (via Philadelphia)
29. Indiana Pacers (via Boston)
30. Los Angeles Clippers (via Milwaukee)

• The NBA Draft occurs on June 22 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

NBA Draft Lottery odds, what winning could mean for each team

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“10 days before knowing my future team. It’s really a crazy thing”

That was what presumptive No.1 pick Victor Wembanyama Tweeted out 10 days ago. Tuesday night the NBA Draft Lottery will give him his answer, and the fortunes of multiple franchises will be changed forever.

For all the scouting, planning, and development that goes into NBA roster building, sometimes it’s still better to be lucky than good— and this year that luck could set a franchise up for a decade. That is whether they land first and get Wembanyama, second and pick Scoot Henderson, or land farther down the board but get one of a number of players with All-NBA potential but some development work to do.

Here are the lottery odds for all 14 teams involved, and what landing Wembanyama would mean to them.

 
Pistons small icon Detroit Pistons: No.1 14%, top four 52.1%. The Pistons were hoping to compete for a play-in spot last season before Cade Cunningham’s leg injury required surgery and ended his season. This is already a solid young core with former No.1 pick Cunningham plus Jaden Ivey, Jalen Duren, Killian Hayes, Isaiah Stewart — add a top two pick to this roster and the Pistons could be contenders in a handful of years. Even if they end up lower, they will be adding another high level player to a core than can grow into something special.

 
Rockets small icon Houston Rockets: No.1 14%, top four 52.1%. The Rockets are another team about to add a high pick to a young core with potential. A Wembanyama and Alperen Şengün front court could be a force with passing and shooting (for that matter, a Scoot Henderson and Jalen Green pairing would be interesting, that’s a lot of athleticism attacking the rim). Whatever happens in the lottery does not change the Rockets’ plans to use their around $60 million in cap space and win more now, which is going to mean chasing veteran free agents, starting with James Harden.

 
Spurs small icon San Antonio Spurs: No.1 14%, top four 52.1%. Winning the Wembanyama sweepstakes would feel a lot like when the Spurs won the lottery to land Tim Duncan and created a dynasty (or, maybe like when they won and landed David Robinson, which was the true first domino of those dynastic years). There have been whispers that Gregg Popovich would stick around and coach another year or two if the Spurs do land the top pick. San Antonio would roll out a starting lineup with Wembanyama, Keldon Johnson, Devin Vassell and Jeremy Sochan that would be interesting (they wouldn’t win a lot of game that first year, but they would be interesting).

 
Hornets small icon Charlotte Hornets: No.1 12.5%, top four 48.1%. LaMelo Ball with Wembanyama would create arguably the greatest social media/young fan favorite team in the league, and also one that could start winning games quickly as the roster is filled out around them. With the veterans already on this roster (Terry Rozier, the likely untradable Gordon Hayward, P.J. Washington) the Hornets could compete for a play-in spot next season.

 
Blazers small icon Portland Trail Blazers: No.1 10.5%, top four 42.1%. Let’s be positive and not go down the road of Portland’s previous top picks. The Trail Blazers remain intent on making a big trade this summer — not to send Damian Lillard out (like so many fans of other teams seem to expect), but rather to bring another star in next to Lillard to try and win now. Landing Wembanyama would likely mean they trade center Jusuf Nurkic for another quality player and start Wembanyama next to a re-signed Jerami Grant in the front court with Lillard and some added depth on the wing and backcourt. That sounds like a playoff team in year one.

 
Magic small icon Orlando Magic: No.1 9%, top four 37.2%. The Orlando Magic have won the NBA Draft Lottery in consecutive years before, 1992 and 1993, which led to them drafting Shaquille O’Neal and Penny Hardaway. Last year the Magic landed the No.1 pick and selected Paolo Banchero, who went on to win Rookie of the Year. Add Wembanyama to Banchero, Franz Wagner, a now solid point guard in Markelle Fultz plus young stars like Wendell Carter Jr. and this is the best young core in the game (the same might be true if the land the No.2 pick and bring in Scoot Henderson). Also, if he can stay healthy, a frontcourt of Jonathan Isaac and Wembanyama would be a defensive juggernaut.

 
Pacers small icon Indiana Pacers: No.1 6.8%, top four 29.4%. The Pacers would instantly have one of the best and most interesting young cores in the league: Myles Turner at center, Wembanyama at the four (creating a defensive wall up front), with the very good Tyrese Haliburton running the show at the point and a mix of Andrew Nembhard, Bennedict Mathurin and Buddy Hield on the wing. With Rick Carlisle as coach this is a playoff team in year one (they were on their way to that last season until Haliburton got injured) that could build into much, much more.

 
Wizards small icon Washington Wizards: No.1 6.7%, top four 29%. Whoever gets hired as the new GM in Washington would instantly look a lot smarter if Wembanyama is on the roster. If he is, do they re-sign Kristaps Porzingis ($36 million player option) and let coach Wes Unseld play around with a two-big lineup? They likely bring back Kyle Kuzma to create a lineup of a point guard to be named, then Bradley Beal, Kuzma, Wembanyama and Porzingis — that looks like the playoff team ownership wants. If that group can just stay healthy.

 
Jazz small icon Utah Jazz: No.1 4.5%, top four 20.3%. Lauri Markkanen and Wembanyama would instantly create one of the longest, most versatile, and most interesting front courts with Walker Kessler likely at center and those two at the 3/4 in whatever order you wish. While the playoffs would be a year one expectation, there would still need to be a lot of building out of the roster around that front line for the long term. The advantage is Danny Ainge and the Utah front office still have a mountain of draft picks from the Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell trades to use/trade to put all the puzzle pieces together.

 
Mavericks small icon Dallas Mavericks: No.1 3%, top four 13.9%. The bigger concern in the Dallas front office is a team leap frogging them and pushing the Mavericks down to the No.11 pick, in which case the Knicks get their pick as a remnant of the Porzingis trade. Dallas nakedly tanked at the end of the season to get into the top 10. Should they win the lottery things instantly look a lot better for the Mavericks, who will have found their star to go next to Luka Dončić (no matter what happens with the Kyrie Irving free agency). A Dončić and Wembanyama pairing might be the most entertaining duo in the league from Day 1.

 
Bulls small icon Chicago Bulls: No.1 1.8%, top four 8.5%. If the Bulls do not get lucky and land that 8.5% chance to jump into the top four, then this pick goes to the Orlando Magic as part of the Nikola Vucevic trade. If the Bulls do get that lucky and jump to the top spot, they will land the franchise cornerstone player they have not had since Derrick Rose and the thing this roster desperately needs. Considering the size of the Chicago market and the Bulls’ fan base, you know there are a few people in the league office rooting for the Bulls to get lucky.

 
Thunder small icon Oklahoma City Thunder: No.1 1.7%, top four 8%. If the lottery gods smile on OKC they could create an NBA dynasty in the Midwest. The Thunder already have All-NBA First Team guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, secondary shot creator Josh Giddey, promising big man Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren (who sat out last season injured but was the No.2 pick last year for a reason) — add Wembanyama to that group and the potential is off the charts. Plus GM/president Sam Presti has a truckload of first-round picks in future years to round out the roster.

 
Raptors small icon Toronto Raptors: No.1 1%, top four 4.8%. It’s a crazy longshot, but add Wembanyama (or Henderson) to a roster with the length and athleticism of Scottie Barnes, Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby, (plus whoever they re-sign from Jakob Poeltl, Fred VanVleet and Gary Trent Jr., all free agents) and you have a playoff team in the short term that could be a real threat in the East in a couple of years. Some new coach is instantly going to look very smart if they win the lottery.

 
Pelicans small icon New Orleans Pelicans: No.1 0.5%, top four 2.4%. It’s a wild longshot but it’s fun to dream of what a Zion Williamson and Wembanyama frontcourt would look like (if it could stay healthy). Pair that with Brandon Ingram, CJ McCollum and Herb Jones and there would be a dangerous and entertaining team in the Big Easy (frankly, there is an entertaining and dangerous team there now if they can just all stay healthy and on the court together for a stretch).

Embiid, Antetokounmpo, Tatum headline All-NBA teams

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The Celtics stars have been rewarded for a strong regular season — and that will leave the Boston front office with some tough decisions in future years.

Meanwhile, Knicks and Grizzlies fans are up in arms that their guys got left off the teams.

Wednesday night the NBA released the All-NBA Teams. Always one of the most controversial awards, this year was no different, particularly at the guard spot. What follows is who made the All-NBA teams and their voting point totals (five points for a first-team vote, three for second, one for third). The votes were cast by a select group of 100 media members.

THE ALL-NBA TEAMS

First Team

F. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee (500)
F. Jayson Tatum, Boston (484)
G. Luka Doncic, Dallas (403)
G. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City (407)
C. Joel Embiid, Philadelphia (474)

Second Team

F. Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics (169)
F. Jimmy Butler, Miami (182)
G. Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland (349)
G. Stephen Curry, Golden State (188)
C. Nikola Jokić, Denver (364)

Third Team

F. LeBron James, L.A. Lakers (81)
F. Julius Randle, Toronto (125)
G. De'Aaron Fox, Sacramento (144)
G. Damian Lillard, Portland (137)
C. Domantas Sabonis, Sacramento (147)

Here are the other players who received votes.

Center: Anthony Davis, Lakers (65); Bam Adebayo, Heat, (9); Kristaps Porzingis, Wizards (2); Brook Lopez, Bucks (1).
Forward: Lauri Markkanen, Jazz (49); Kevin Durant, Suns (35); Pascal Siakam, Raptors (15); Kawhi Leonard, Clippers (15); Anthony Edwards, Timberwolves (14); Jaren Jackson Jr., Grizzlies (11); DeMar DeRozan, Bulls (2); Mikal Bridges, Nets (2); Paul George, Clippers (1); Zach LaVine, Bulls (1); Tyrese Haliburton, Pacers (1).
Guards: Ja Morant, Grizzlies (44); Jrue Holiday, Bucks (39); Jalen Brunson, Knicks (23); Devin Booker, Suns (10); James Harden, 76ers (6); Tyrese Haliburton, Pacers (1); Trae Young, Hawks (1).

Some thoughts on the selections:

• Knicks fans will scream about Jalen Brunson being snubbed, but two points about that: 1) He finished ninth in guard voting, with Morant and Holiday in line ahead of him in snubbed guards; 2) Guard was BY FAR the hardest position to pick with way more deserving candidates than the six slots allowed.

• Next season, All-NBA will be a positionless vote (thanks to the new CBA) — if voters want more guards and fewer forwards or centers, they can do it. (For my money, having no positions is fairer and more representative of how the modern game is played. However, the decision will be no easier for voters and give fans plenty to argue about: Splitting hairs between the 14/15 best players next season and the 16/17th best will be brutal).

• Five All-NBA players this season would not have qualified next season because they did not meet the new 65-game threshold: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, LeBron James and Damian Lillard.

• Jaylen Brown is now eligible for the supermax extension this summer of five years, $295 million from the Celtics. While there have been rumors of him being restless in Boston, that’s 295 million reasons he will stay — and the Celtics have to pay up and keep him, at least for now (better to sign and trade him rather than let him walk for nothing).

• Jayson Tatum making All-NBA again means he will be eligible for a supermax extension in the summer of 2024, and by then the cost is expected to be five years, $318 million. With the new CBA coming down hard on teams more than $17.5 million over the luxury tax line, and this team on the verge of getting bounced in the second round of the playoffs, Brad Stevens and the Celtics front office have some hard questions ahead about what the core of this team looks like and if it needs to be retooled.

• Ja Morant missed out on $39 million by not making Third Team All-NBA, meaning he is not eligible for the supermax. The same is true for Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet of the Raptors, and Jamal Murray of the Nuggets (only Siakam of that group got any votes).

• Donovan Mitchell apparently thought he deserved better than Second Team.

• Luka Dončić is now the fourth player in NBA history with four First-Team All-NBA selections before turning 25, joining Kevin Durant, Tim Duncan and Max Zaslofsky (hat tip Tim MacMahon of ESPN).