Carmelo Anthony - United States National Team

United States National Team

Anthony was one of 12 players named to the USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Team in the summer of 2002. He was a member of the bronze-medal winning Team USA at the 2002 4th Junior World Championship Qualifying Tournament held in La Asuncion, Margarita, Venezuela. He started all five contests and averaged a team-best 15.6 ppg despite playing an average of just 22.2 minutes an outing. His 6.2 rebound mark ranked second on the club behind Chris Bosh. He also averaged 1.8 apg, 1.2 spg and 0.2 bpg. Anthony had 15 points and nine rebounds in a first-round win against Dominican Republic. He had 21 points and seven boards in 21 minutes versus Mexico, another Team USA triumph. He keyed a 75–73 victory against Argentina with a team-leading 23 points. In a two-point semifinal loss to host Venezuela, Anthony contributed 13 points and 10 rebounds. Team USA earned the bronze by beating Argentina, 71–65. The squad was coached by Oregon mentor Ernie Kent. Anthony had previous USA Basketball experience as a participant in the 2001 Youth Development Festival.

After his rookie season, Anthony, along with fellow 2003 draftees LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, was chosen as a member of the 2004 USA Olympic basketball team alongside veterans Allen Iverson, Stephon Marbury and Tim Duncan that won the bronze medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics. He averaged 2.4 ppg 1.6 rpg and 6.8 minutes of playing time while playing in 7 of the team's 8 games.

In 2006, Anthony was named co-captain (along with James and Wade) of Team USA at the 2006 FIBA World Championship. The team won the bronze medal. On August 23, 2006, Anthony set the U.S. scoring record in a game with 35 points against Italy in the said FIBA tournament. The record was previously held by Kenny Anderson with 34 points in 1990. Anthony was named to the FIBA World Championship All-Tournament Team, posting averages of team-leading 19.9 ppg, 3.7 rpg and 1.6 apg. On January 16, 2006, Anthony was chosen as USA Basketball's Male Athlete of the Year after his performance at the FIBA World Championship.

Anthony was also a member of Team USA during the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship. The team went undefeated, going 10–0. Anthony ended up as the team's leading scorer and tournament's second-leading scorer with a 21.2 ppg average (191 points in 9 games), which was behind Leandro Barbosa of Brazil. Anthony also added 5.2 rpg, 1.4 apg, 0.7 spg and 0.3 bpg. He equalled the previous record of 28 points set by Allen Iverson in a qualifying tournament, which was later broken by James, who scored 31 points in the title-clinching win against Argentina.

Anthony was also named to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, again alongside James and Wade, with Kobe Bryant and Jason Kidd among others. The team won its games by an average winning margin of 32.2 points, eliminating Australia in the quarterfinals by 31 and beating Argentina by 20 points. Anthony scored 21 points against Argentina, making 3 of 14 field goals and 13-of-13 in free throws, setting USA Olympic game records for made free throws and free throw percentage. In the gold medal game, the United States defeated 2006 World Champion Spain, with Anthony scoring 13 points. Anthony posted averages of 11.5 ppg (92 points/8 games), 4.3 rpg (34 rebounds/8 games) and 1.0 spg (8 steals/8 games).

Anthony, along with LeBron James, also participated in the 2012 Summer Olympics held in London. It was his third straight Olympiad (2004, 2008, 2012), as he joined James and David Robinson (1988, 1992, 1996) as the only American basketball players to play in three Olympiads. Anthony played in all 8 games, serving as Team USA's sixth man. He posted averages of 16.3 ppg (130 points), 4.8 rpg (38 rebounds), 1.3 apg (10 assists) and 0.5 spg (4 steals), built around 50% shooting from 3 PT range (23-46), 53% FG shooting (46-86) and 79% FT (15-19). In a 156-73 victory over Nigeria, Anthony connected on 10-12 3-point attempts, both records for made and attempted shots, on the way to 37 points, another Team USA record (breaking the 31 of Stephon Marbury set in the 2004 edition). Team USA won the gold medal as they defended their 2008 title against Spain, winning 107-100. Anthony's 16.3 ppg average was the second best for Team USA behind Kevin Durant's record-setting 156 points (19.5 ppg). Anthony's 23 made 3-point shots was second-best to Durant's record 34 as they both broke the previous Team USA record of 17 made 3-point shots.

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