The older superstars of the NBA

Los Angeles.

Staples Center Arena.

In Game 5 of the first round of the Western Conference playoffs, the Portland Trail Blazers challenged the Lakers away from home. The game between the two sides lasted until the 4th minute of the 7th quarter.

The score was 101 to 107, with the Trail Blazers trailing the Lakers by 6 points.

The two sides tied the score at 1-3, and the Lakers got the match point.

When the Trail Blazers fell behind, Damian Lillard, the core player, refused to give up at all. He continued to attack with the ball on the court, trying to help the Trail Blazers recover the lost score.

He is working hard, and so is LeBron James on the opposite side.

Lakers offense.

The ball passed half court, and Rajon Rondo held the ball at the top of the arc to organize the attack.

As the core, LeBron went up to catch the ball himself. After getting the ball, he stood there in a singles stance.

The person who went up to mark him was none other than Carmelo Anthony.

The two were in the same draft, one was the No. 1 pick, and the other was the No. 3 pick. It can be said that the starting points of the two were almost the same. At least at that time, both of them attracted media attention.

However, their subsequent paths were quite different.

The No. 1 pick led the team to the finals in his fourth season in the league. Although he lost in the end, he showed that his team leadership talent is better than his personal talent.

It was only in his sixth season after entering the league that the third overall pick finally led the team to the Western Conference Finals. Unfortunately, that time he met the Los Angeles Lakers led by Kobe Bryant.

The two sides fought in 6 games in the Western Conference Finals, and the Nuggets lost the entire series 2-4.

What's even more pity is that Anthony has only experienced the Western Conference Finals once in his entire career. Since then, whether in the Western Conference or the Eastern Conference, he has never been able to lead the team to a decent record.

On the contrary, it was LeBron who, in the following years, still led the Cavaliers to attack the championship.

Of course, the Cavaliers still lost!

It was from then on that LeBron simply decided to start his career in another way. He joined the Miami Heat when they were in their prime, and chose to form the Big Three with countless fans spraying and insulting them.

After winning two championships in the next four years, I finally realized my dream.

At this time, Anthony didn't have many ideas at all. He just wanted to be the boss of a wealthy team and earn more money. For him, winning the game is sometimes not as important as making money.

Later, LeBron returned to the Cavaliers and continued to advance towards the championship amidst the abuse; Anthony had conflicts with the management of the Knicks and later had to leave New York and started his own wandering road.

Same starting point, but different end point.

It is true that LeBron was scolded, and it is true that he won the championship. Although he was controversial, he did receive more honors.

On the other hand, Anthony was extremely talented at first, but later he completely fell flat. It's not that he didn't work hard, but he wasn't persistent enough or crazy enough.

When he finally realized that he was getting older and seemed to need a championship to sum up his career, Anthony began to move around several clubs, trying to use a powerful combination to bring a perfect end to his career. .

Unfortunately, times have changed!

It is no longer possible to win the championship simply by joining together, not to mention that Anthony's performance has never been able to better integrate into the team.

There may have been many stars before him who thought that being in a team was nothing great and had no technical content. In short, as long as they were willing to bow their heads, they could quickly win one or even several championships like LeBron.

But the reality is that it is not easy to form a team, and many stars do not have a good chemical reaction between them.

It is not that a group of stars will definitely win the championship if they are together. Bowing down is only the first step. In more cases, you need to sacrifice your own ball rights and sacrifice more interests before you can finally reach the finals and realize your ideal.

What's more important than this is that most of the time it's difficult for stars to bow their heads.

Top stars such as Allen Iverson were one of the league's signature players when he was young. When he gets older, he will never accept it, even if he is just a substitute.

The same goes for Anthony.

He was once a superstar on the same level as LeBron. He was once a star in the league and the first player in the All-Star Game.

After Anthony stared at LeBron in person, he suddenly had a trance-like feeling. It seems that everything has gone back more than ten years ago, to the time when he and LeBron first entered the league.

At that time, the two were not considered superstars, they were just the most watched players among the rookies. Every matchup and every data comparison between them can attract the attention of many people.

There are many people who praise LeBron, and there are also many people who praise themselves.

However, today, the gap between himself and LeBron is already visible to the naked eye. One is still the top star in the league, while the other is a past star in the eyes of many people and is one of the veterans who is about to retire.

"LeBron, long time no see."

Anthony said hello to LeBron while putting on a defensive stance.

LeBron responded with a smile.

"Cameron, do you remember the last time we faced each other like this? I feel like it's been a long time..."

LeBron kept testing Anthony while dribbling the basketball.

"Yes!"

"It seems like everything happened yesterday...but this damn time flies so fast! My special code is almost retired now..."

Anthony looked bitter.

LeBron was very calm, "Man, you missed a lot of things... If you had a little more desire for victory, maybe you would have won 2 or 3 championships by now..."

Anthony smiled helplessly when he heard this.

Why doesn't he understand?

If he had not chosen so many comfortable days and kept moving around to find ways to compete for the championship like LeBron, then maybe he would have had a championship and retired long ago, so why would he be like this anymore? Wandering around.

When Anthony was stunned, LeBron didn't hesitate anymore. He raised the basketball and decisively shot a three-pointer.

Swish.

The basketball fell steadily into the basket.

LeBron's three-pointer drew cheers from the audience.

Seeing this scene, Anthony's mood became extremely complicated.

In the remaining time, the Trail Blazers did not continue to pursue. Lillard's strength alone was really limited, so the game ended quickly.

beep.

The moment the live timer sounded, Anthony finally couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.

"it's all over!"

"Maybe... it's time to leave this alliance!"