Longtime NBA star and Syracuse University product Carmelo Anthony announced his retirement from professional basketball Monday morning.

Anthony, a week shy of his 39th birthday, said on Twitter, "the time has come for me to say goodbye," but he's excited for his future and says "my story has always been more than basketball."

Anthony spent 19 seasons in the NBA with the Denver Nuggets, New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Lakers. He earned six all-NBA nods, averaging 22.5 points per game for his career, and won three Olympic gold medals. He did not play in this most recent season after spending the 2021-22 season in L.A.

Anthony retires as the NBA's ninth all-time leading scorer with 28,289 points. He averaged 20 or more points per game for each of his first 14 seasons in the league, with a high of 28.9 PPG for Denver in 2006-07. He never won an NBA championship, coming closest in the 2008-09 season when the Nuggets reached the Western Conference final.

 

When it comes to international basketball, Anthony stands alone, as he is the only men's basketball player to date to win three Olympic golds. Anthony also won a bronze medal with the 2004 U.S. team. In four Olympic games, Anthony put himself atop the U.S. Olympic career rankings for games played, points and rebounds.

He spent just one season in college, but made it count, leading Syracuse University to the 2003 NCAA championship with a win over Kansas in the title game.