Carmelo Anthony is a first-ballot Hall of Famer. The basketball world knew that the Brooklyn-born former Knicks star wouldn’t have to wait long to add his name to the list of the game’s immortals. Confirmation came Wednesday when ESPN’s NBA insider Shams Charania revealed that the 10-time NBA All-Star has been notified he’s been elected into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2025. Anthony, a six-time All-NBA selection and 2003 All-Rookie Team selection, is elected to the Hall of Fame after a career that included 19 NBA seasons in which he averaged 22.5 points and 6.2 rebounds per game over 1,260 appearances (1,120 starts). For the player who led Syracuse to a national championship as a freshman in 2003 and later went on to be the face of the Knicks, the news will become official on Saturday when the announcement of the full class comes at the men’s Final Four in San Antonio. The announcement at the Final Four will come 22 years after Anthony helped coach Jim Boeheim end his championship drought at Syracuse. The fresh-faced Anthony led the No. 3-seeded Orange to the national title after beating Kansas, 81-78, in the championship game at the Superdome in New Orleans. It was Boeheim’s third trip to the title game. For Anthony, who had 20 points and 10 rebounds against the Jayhawks and earned Final Four Most Outstanding Player, the win culminated one of the greatest freshman campaigns in college hoops history. The Big East Rookie of the Year averaged 22.2 points per game in a season in which he started every game. Anthony’s quick ascension into one of the NBA’s deadliest scorers started in 2003 when the Denver Nuggets selected him third overall, two picks behind future first ballot Hall of Famer LeBron James. “CONGRATULATIONS MY BROTHER!” LeBron James wrote on X of Anthony’s Hall of Fame news. Anthony averaged 21.0 points and 6.1 rebounds on 42.6% shooting his rookie year, but finished second behind James for the Rookie of the Year award. From there, Anthony’s scoring only increased. His highest points per game average came during the 2006-07 season with the Nuggets when he averaged 28.9 points in 65 games for a Denver team that lost, 4-1, to the eventual champion San Antonio Spurs in a Western Conference first-round series. The soon-to-be Hall of Famer spent seven seasons in Denver before a 2011 blockbuster three-team trade to New York made him the biggest star on Broadway. Alongside Anthony, Chauncey Billups, Shelden Williams, Anthony Carter and Renaldo Balkman landed in New York from Denver. In return, the Nuggets received Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari, Timofey Mozgov, Raymond Felton and draft compensation. A 2016 pick swap eventually landed Jamal Murray in Denver. The third team, the Minnesota Timberwolves, received Eddy Curry, Anthony Randolph and cash in exchange for Corey Brewer from the Knicks. Anthony was selected to the All-Star team in all seven seasons he spent in New York (2010-17). He won the NBA scoring title in 2013 after recording 28.7 points per game. Anthony also finished third for MVP that season, behind winner James and Kevin Durant. During his Knicks career, the Garden favorite averaged 24.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists, but never managed to carry the Knicks past the second round of the playoffs. He reached the Western Conference Finals as a member of the Nuggets once, but his team fell in six games to Kobe Bryant’s Los Angeles Lakers in 2009. Anthony’s tenure with the Knicks ended after a 2017 offseason trade sent him to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Enes Kanter Freedom, Doug McDermott and draft compensation. Anthony, who was 33 at the time, waived his no-trade clause to execute the deal. Related Articles Renck: Russell Westbrook Experience must be curtailed after Nuggets’ deflating loss to Timberwolves Michael Malone defends Russell Westbrook after disastrous sequence costs Nuggets in 2OT: “He’s a guy that hates to lose” Despite 61-point triple-double from Nikola Jokic, Nuggets fall again in double OT to Timberwolves Keeler: Nuggets’ biggest problem going into NBA Playoffs? Nobody fears Michael Malone’s bench, analyst says Michael Malone: Timberwolves have approached Nuggets games “like it’s a rivalry” Anthony then spent parts of his final four NBA seasons with the Houston Rockets, Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Lakers. The star simply known as “Melo” finished his career with 28,289 points, good for 10th on the NBA all-time scoring list. He never won an MVP award or captured an elusive NBA title, but he finished his career as one of the most decorated Olympic basketball players of all-time. He won three consecutive gold medals during the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games. He also took home the bronze medal in 2004. Anthony officially announced his retirement in 2023. Want more Nuggets news? Sign up for the Nuggets Insider to get all our NBA analysis. ...read more read less