Carmelo Anthony received some “top-level” offers from European teams to play for them, but he decided not to accept these, per league insider Marc Stein. Anthony isn’t convinced of playing with other leagues as he preferred to be back in the NBA.
As such, after no NBA team reached out to him for a playing contract this year, the former All-Star ultimately announced his retirement earlier this week.
“League sources say Carmelo Anthony did receive some top-level European interest this season but decided that he wasn’t going to play anywhere unless the offer came from the NBA.”
Anthony previously played for the Los Angeles Lakers last season, as he still managed to average 13.2 points and 4.2 boards in 69 games. This went on to become the final year of his illustrious career.
A career overseas has been a good option for some players who didn’t get that favorable playing offers from NBA teams. Dwight Howard, who also played with Anthony in the Lakers last year, notably accepted a playing opportunity in Taiwan’s T1 League.