Carmelo Anthony
© Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Some young NBA fans may not know, but before becoming a role player in the Los Angeles Lakers, Carmelo Anthony was once the face of another storied franchise- the New York Knicks. Continuing where he left off in Denver, Melo took the Knicks by storm, having logged an impressive 26.3 points per outing in his maiden season in New York.
Anthony’s game reached a crescendo in his third campaign with the team when he recorded his best scoring season as a Knick with 28.7 points per game. During that season, Melo was working on making himself a better leader and decided to go on a strict diet in an attempt to perform even better.
It might’ve been too much
In the 2011/12 season, Anthony reportedly weighed about 240 pounds, which a calorie and weight calculator suggests was 15 pounds over his ideal weight of 225 pounds.
Unbeknown to the public, Melo decided to start 2013 by shedding some excess weight, but he did not rely on dietitians or other fat-burning procedures. Instead, the 10-time NBA All-Star opted for the more natural fasting, specifically “The Daniel Fasting.”
Basically, it is a diet that requires no meat, sugar, and carbs.
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While it sounded like a great way to start the new year, Melo suddenly had a poor shooting night on a January game, misfiring 1 out of 8 from the field in the first quarter, the quarter in which he led the league in scoring that season.
When quizzed by the media to comment on the notable decline, Anthony revealed that he has been fasting for 15 days and “hasn’t had a good meal” for “about two and a half weeks.” In the process, it “de-energized” him. But after that terrible shooting game, he was ready to “surrender” and eat.
“I haven’t been eating the things I like, so it kind of de-energized me. I surrender… I’m going to get some food right now,” Anthony said via ESPN. “I’m going to get me the biggest steak I can get.”
Diet wasn’t the problem
Besides scoring, Melo did not have much success in terms of winning playoff games with the Knicks. Reports said that he made a herculean effort to cut some weight he wanted to be a facilitator in Phil Jackson’s famed triangle offense, and “speed will help that.”
However, according to the “Zen Master” himself, Anthony’s weight wasn’t the problem. Instead, it was his intimidating personality that needed some trimming.
“I think that the strength of his personality was intimidating to some of the coaches that were asked to coach the team,” Jackson said of Anthony.
The truth is, It’s hard to tell if weight-cutting could really help an NBA player perform better. Looking back, Melo’s story and how the Knicks failed to win back then speaks a lot about the myth of shredding in the NBA.
