The idea of a true rivalry between LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony has been talked about for years - and not without reason. They entered the NBA together in that iconic 2003 draft class, both with sky-high expectations and undeniable talent.
But according to Rich Paul, the narrative of a head-to-head rivalry never really matched the reality on the court. And when you look closer, he’s got a point.
On the latest episode of Game Over with Max Kellerman and Rich Paul, the longtime agent and close friend of LeBron broke down why the LeBron-Carmelo rivalry never took off the way fans and media might’ve hoped. And it had less to do with the players themselves and more to do with the way the league - and the draft - shaped their paths.
“It’s not anything that has to do with Carmelo or LeBron’s basketball play,” Paul said. “It’s actually what they don’t control.”
He pointed to a pivotal moment in the 2003 NBA Draft: the Detroit Pistons selecting Darko Milicic with the No. 2 pick. That single decision, Paul argued, effectively ended any chance of a long-term rivalry between LeBron and Melo before it even started.
Why? Because instead of landing in Detroit - a team that was already built to win - Anthony was drafted by the Denver Nuggets at No. 3, sending him to the Western Conference while LeBron stayed in the East with the Cavaliers. That meant limited matchups, no conference playoff battles, and very little overlap in terms of postseason stakes.
“You’re gonna beat me, I’m going to beat you,” Paul said, referring to their four regular-season meetings each year. “But the opportunity of a rivalry is dead.”
Max Kellerman took it a step further, floating a hypothetical that’s been bounced around NBA circles for years: what if Carmelo had gone to Detroit instead of Denver?
“If he went to Detroit, he would've been whooping on LeBron,” Kellerman said.
Paul didn’t hesitate to agree. “Of course, because they had the better team,” he said.
And that’s the core of the argument - context matters. Detroit was already a veteran-laden contender heading into the 2003-04 season.
They’d win the NBA title that year and make deep playoff runs in the seasons that followed. Had Melo been drafted into that system, he would’ve entered the league with a legitimate shot at a title from day one - and in the same conference as LeBron.
That could’ve set the stage for years of playoff showdowns, the kind of battles that define rivalries in the NBA.
Instead, their careers played out more like parallel journeys. They crossed paths often, but rarely when the stakes were highest.
That sentiment echoed a recent comment from former NBA guard Brandon Jennings, who said on Gil’s Arena that despite the constant comparisons, Anthony was never truly a rival to James.
Still, there was a moment when the rivalry talk felt real - way back in high school. In a nationally hyped matchup in Trenton, New Jersey, Carmelo’s Oak Hill Academy took down LeBron’s St.
Vincent-St. Mary High School 72-66.
Melo dropped 34 points and grabbed 11 boards. LeBron countered with 36 points, eight rebounds, and five assists.
It was the kind of game that felt like a preview of something bigger.
But once they hit the NBA, the numbers tell a different story. In their 36 regular-season matchups, LeBron held a 22-14 edge.
He averaged 25.8 points, 7.7 assists, 7.1 rebounds, and 1.6 steals per game, shooting just over 50% from the field. Melo, meanwhile, put up 21.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.8 assists on 42% shooting.
In the playoffs, they only met twice - both in the first round, both ending in five-game series wins for LeBron’s teams. In 2012, it was LeBron’s Miami Heat over Melo’s New York Knicks.
In 2020, it was the Lakers over the Blazers. LeBron averaged 27.6 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 7.9 assists across those 10 playoff games.
Melo posted 21.5 points and 6.6 rebounds.
And then, in 2021-22, they finally shared a locker room in Los Angeles. Melo’s final season in the league was spent as LeBron’s teammate - a full-circle moment that underscored Paul’s point: their careers were more aligned than opposed.
So while the idea of a LeBron vs. Melo rivalry makes for good barbershop debates and highlight reel nostalgia, the reality is that circumstances - not talent - kept that storyline from ever truly taking off.
It wasn’t a lack of firepower or competitiveness. It was the simple fact that they were rarely in each other’s way when it mattered most.
In the end, LeBron and Melo weren’t rivals. They were contemporaries - two stars from the same draft class, carving out Hall of Fame careers on different tracks. And sometimes, that’s just how the league shakes out.