Since our days of covering Jimmy Butler, there are two things that are constant: performance and noise. Pick the recent Pat Riley and Jimmy Butler saga in the Miami Heat locker room. The league has rarely seen such vocal separation lately. Now, pause a moment and go back to Team USA’s 2016 Olympic squad. They had all the star power you could imagine: Durant, Irving, Butler, Melo, and more. Coached by the legendary Mike Krzyzewski, the group was expected to dominate. And they delivered. The team went undefeated, winning the gold with a 96–66 blowout over Serbia. Durant led the scoring, while Carmelo Anthony made history as the first U.S. men’s basketball player to win three Olympic golds. But beyond the medals, the squad was full of wild energy off the court, too.
One chaotic memory from that summer still lives online. Right before the Olympics, the team was flying to Houston for a tune-up against Nigeria. Most of the guys were in high spirits. Jimmy Butler played Vanessa Carlton’s “A Thousand Miles” and led a loud sing-along. DeRozan, Kyrie, and even KD, with a blanket around himself, joined in. But the camera slowly panned to Melo, who sat dead silent, glaring into the lens. That viral clip had fans rolling, and even Vanessa Carlton responded with, “@carmeloanthony I get it. Though the boys did sound pretty good. x.” Almost a decade later, that moment resurfaced on 7PM in Brooklyn, on Melo’s podcast with The Kid Mero.
DeMar DeRozan was the guest, and it didn’t take long for them to bring it up again. “But first, Melo, you know what time it is,” Kazeem teased. As the video played, Melo forebodingly said, “I don’t know where this is going.… Oh s–t,” and cracked along with the others. DeRozan jumped in, “So we just started f——g with him. Irritating the s—t out of him. Every morning we used to f—- with him.” That serious look? It wasn’t about the song; instead, it was about Melo hating early mornings.
Carmelo Anthony
Melo later confirmed it was Jimmy Butler who started the prank, saying, “He the only one playing that s—t.” The daily sing-along turned into a running joke. “We did that to him like every day,” DeRozan said. Whether it was on the bus or the plane, the younger players made it their mission to mess with Melo’s rest. While Melo looked frustrated in the clip, the podcast revealed a fun side of that chaos. “It was a long night,” he admitted with a smile. Maybe not gold-medal worthy, but definitely unforgettable.
Beyond the chaos and headlines, the NBA runs on something deeper: mutual respect and hard-earned wisdom between players. When Jimmy Butler hit a rough patch in Miami and found himself cast as the Heat media’s villain, it was Carmelo Anthony who stepped in with a warning grounded in experience. “Jimmy, man, chill out. Because they’re going to Marbury you,” Melo said then. “They’re going to tell you, ‘Don’t even come around no more until we figure out what’s next.’ And when they do that, there’s no other team you’re going to.”
The reference was sharp—Stephen Marbury’s fallout with the Knicks left him virtually untouchable in the league. But Jimmy had something Marbury didn’t: a lifeline. The Golden State Warriors saw through the noise and recognized the star still burning bright.
Carmelo Anthony’s bond with the 2016 team still resonates as Kyrie Irving reflects on the new era
When Kyrie Irving spoke in 2024 about not fitting with this year’s Team USA, it struck a different chord. The guard who won gold with Carmelo Anthony and others in 2016 admitted, “I just didn’t fit in well with this team.” While respectful, his comments showed how times have changed. Kyrie added, “At this point in my career, I think my focus should be winning a championship.” His decision not to join this summer’s squad revealed something deeper than just basketball.
On the 7PM in Brooklyn podcast, DeMar DeRozan gave a glimpse of what Kyrie might be missing now. The camaraderie of that 2016 team wasn’t just for the cameras. “We did everything together,” DeRozan said. “From the bus to the plane to eating. We all messed with each other heavy.” That tight-knit energy is a rare thing in sports. He added, “It wasn’t ever a dull day of us just cracking jokes, doing something, hanging out.” The joy clearly went beyond the court.
DeRozan’s tone shifted as he reflected on how overlooked their group has become. “They never talk about our 2016 team like that,” he said. But for Carmelo Anthony, that team meant everything. He was not just a veteran voice but the emotional anchor. DeRozan shared, “Nobody had egos out there… we was playing for one another.” That selflessness, that unity, is something Kyrie seems to miss. He even said, “I miss those days of just being able to get everybody together, break bread, and then compete.”
Kyrie may be focused on rings now, but the bond Carmelo and that team had is timeless. Sometimes, memories mean more than medals.
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