Away from the NBA hardwood yet close to the game, Carmelo Anthony is joining hands with what used to be his nemesis of sorts. The media industry. If you have been following the updates, you’d know the 10x All-Star has recently joined the media industry. But with a beef that ran seemingly deep, it was only a matter of time before past tensions surrounded the latest update on Melo he had with the media industry.
So, what’s the big update? Anthony is set to join NBC Sports as a studio analyst when NBC and Peacock kick off their NBA coverage in October. With this, he’ll be going toe-to-toe—metaphorically—with his good friend and fellow NBA legend Dwyane Wade, who’s reportedly set to appear on Prime Video’s NBA broadcasts backed by the $1.8 trillion company that is Amazon. Yep, the man whom Melo termed as “brother” in a 2023 X post will now be standing against him. While Dwyane Wade heads to Prime Video, Melo confirmed his gig during NBC’s Kentucky Derby broadcast this past Saturday.
According to the network, viewers can expect to see him in the studio at least one night a week throughout the playoffs. And while fans are celebrating Melo’s new chapter, his complicated past with the media hasn’t gone unnoticed. In fact, the chatter about his media journey started gaining momentum even before the NBC deal was revealed. Back in February, Anthony was candid about his rocky relationship with the press. “I’m somebody who fought the media forever,” he said, as per an article by Yahoo Sports in February. “For so long, I wasn’t looking at Creative 7 as a media company. But if I’m going to do this, I’m not doing anything stupid or corny.”
He reiterated his media distrust at 7PM in Brooklyn. “… I always told myself I would never get on TV… Because it was just (the) lack of respect that I had for people, former players that was getting on TV critiquing the game doing the same s–t they doing now,”
Apr 10, 2019; Brooklyn, NY, USA; NBA star Carmelo Anthony with Miami Heat guard Dwayne Wade (3) after his last game against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
Well, there exists a reason that Anthony believes he had to always fight the media. In February 2014, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith penned a column urging the New York Knicks to trade Carmelo Anthony, arguing that retaining Melo “would be pretty close to stupid” given the team’s struggles. Even before that, During the 2008–09 season, Anthony grew frustrated with the criticism he faced on MSG Network’s Knicks postgame programs. In November 2008, he declined to appear on the channel’s traditional postgame show, citing a desire to avoid “corny” media routines.
The fact that Anthony had even received warnings against the NY media on landing with the New York Knicks should make it clear what the situation used to be. In fact, Melo’s ex-wife had once stated her belief that the media was partly responsible for the demise of their marriage.
Did media scrutiny affect Carmelo Anthony’s personal life?
Sometimes, fame doesn’t just open doors—it kicks them wide open, even to places you’d rather keep private. It was a year after officially filing for divorce that La La Anthony looked back on what she felt triggered the unraveling of her marriage to Carmelo Anthony.
In an honest moment on the Call Her Daddy podcast, she pointed to a specific turning point: Melo’s high-profile trade from the Denver Nuggets to the New York Knicks in 2011. That move didn’t just change jerseys—it changed their entire reality.
Under Madison Square Garden’s relentless spotlight, the couple faced unprecedented public scrutiny—every outing, every misstep splashed across tabloids and sports shows. “When we lived here [in New York] under all of that, that’s when things became complicated,” she shared. “Now that I look back, that was kind of the start of the demise of the marriage,” said La La. That relentless coverage extended beyond game nights: a 2017 Vice Sports profile noted how paparazzi and gossip columns trailed their every move, contributing to La La’s “sleepless nights” when Melo’s road schedule took him to “problem cities” like Miami, where athlete rumors ran wild.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 10: Kiyan Carmelo Anthony and LaLa Anthony during the Who Decides War Spring/Summer 2024 Fashion Show on September 10, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Udo Salters/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)
You could almost feel the weight of that transition. La La, however, didn’t stop there. “It is the hardest with the scrutiny and the media and the press, just everything.” Well, living under a constant spotlight isn’t something all people desire. And while La La acknowledged it wasn’t the only reason things fell apart, she made it clear—life in New York, under all that attention, made everything harder.
For Melo, who once vowed never to “get on TV” because of that very lack of respect, the irony is profound. He now steps behind the same cameras as an NBC analyst. Whether he can rewrite his media narrative remains to be seen. But as La La’s candid reflections reveal, the court of public opinion has long carried weight far beyond the hardwood.
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