James, with his preternatural passing skills and man-child physique, was the consensus No. 1 pick in the draft. But he was a high school kid from an obscure program, whereas Anthony had just powered Syracuse to the NCAA championship as a freshman. That mattered a lot in 2003.
"There was a lot of debate back and forth as to who would be the better pro," said a longtime NBA talent evaluator, who scouted both players extensively.
Scouts pegged James as the best long-term investment, but Anthony, with his polished, well-rounded offensive repertoire, "was the better player at the time," the talent evaluator said.
"This kid's going to provide scoring from day one," ESPN's
dikk Vitale bellowed on draft night.
Their lone head-to-head matchup had ended in a virtual draw that day in Trenton, with Anthony, a senior, scoring 34 points for his victorious Oak Hill Academy team, and James, then a junior, scoring 36 for St. Vincent-St. Mary.
"Neither was head-and-shoulders better than the other," said Dru Joyce II, James' high school coach.
In a 2003 preseason survey of NBA general managers, 80 percent picked James to win Rookie of the Year. Some prominent commentators, including Steve Kerr and Doug Collins, chose Anthony. A reader poll in the
Washington Post gave Anthony the nod by a two-to-one margin.
"James isn't even the best player in his own draft,"
Miami Heraldcolumnist Dan Le Batard wrote in June 2003. "Carmelo Anthony will be better immediately and forevermore."
It wasn't an outrageous stance at the time.
"I heard all the talk obviously about 'Melo was more NBA-ready,'" James said in a recent conversation with B/R. "And rightfully so, maybe."
This much has also been forgotten as the years have passed: Anthony tasted success first, and it wasn't close.
As a rookie, Anthony averaged 21 points per game, powering the Nuggets to a 43-win season and a playoff berth, the franchise's first in nine years. James' Cavaliers sputtered to a 35-47 record and missed the postseason.
The next season, Anthony's team surged to 49-33 and another trip to the playoffs. The Cavs went 42-40, missing the cut again, despite playing in the weaker Eastern Conference.
All the pressure then was on James.
hell you quoting me for
