NBA All-Star Carmelo Anthony headed to Sydney: ‘I’m excited to meet my Aussie fans’
Basketball All-Star Carmelo Anthony is coming to Australia for a series of speaking engagements and training camp events.
Confidential
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Former NBA All-Star Carmelo Anthony is headed Down Under.
The American basketballer is coming to Sydney and Melbourne for his first ever speaking and training camp events in Australia in April.
“I’m excited to finally come Down Under and meet all my Aussie fans,” Anthony said. “Ushering in this next generation of talent and growing the game of basketball globally are important to me and this tour is a great opportunity for me to share my expertise and love for the game in a new way.”
Anthony, 39, played 19 seasons in America’s National Basketball Association (NBA).
Affectionately known as ‘Melo’, he is a 10-time NBA All-Star who also contributed to winning Olympic gold for Team USA three times, and bronze at the 2004 event in Athens.
In his 20-plus year career, he played for the Denver Nuggets, New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, Portland Trail Blazers and the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Australian tour will see ‘Melo’ speak at Sydney’s Doltone House on April 15 and Melbourne’s The Timber Yard on the 11th of the month.
Last August, American basketball great Derrick Rose similarly toured Australia and hosted camps for budding players keen for face time with the Memphis Grizzlies megastar.
Former NBA players arriving on Australian shores has become common practice following the NBL’s emergence as a genuine pathway to the world’s best basketball league.
This has been shown through multiple players including Josh Giddey, Patty Mills, and Joe Ingles.
Conversely, NBA players are also coming to Australia to play in the NBL. Notably, that includes Sydney Kings import guard Denzel Valentine, who in October told Confidential he would use the NBL to springboard back into the NBA.
“The NBL, everybody plays hard,” he said.
“That is what I would say about his league, they play hard for the full 40 minutes. The guys are really talented and really skilled. If you don’t bring your A game, you are going to be exposed – this league ranks up high.”
As to his own plans, he continued: “That’s my end goal, come here and try to win a championship and then go back to the NBA.”
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