“He was the only one I could look up to.” Early in his tenure in the NBA, Carmelo Anthony had the rare opportunity to call Allen Iverson his mentor. However, things didn’t pan out as the Denver Nuggets hoped for. They continued to suffer back-to-back first-round losses, and the drubbing of 4-0 by the Lakers in 2008 was the final nail in the coffin. The two-season partnership ended when AI was traded, which Melo had no idea about.

“I don’t know the trade happened, I don’t know nothing is happening,” Anthony revealed on his weekly podcast and further explained that he was in the locker room when Iverson came running and was in tears. “Yo, I love you, bro. I’m out,” was the last message from AI to Carmelo Anthony before leaving.

Melo later realized it was Chauncey Billups who was joining in for his second stint with the Nuggets and called the moment bittersweet. “I needed him (Billups) at that point in time to orchestrate that and to teach me how to win,” Melo said on the podcast 7PM in Brooklyn.

Soon after Billups joined in, the Nuggets were able to beat the first-round hurdle for the first time since Carmelo Anthony’s debut with the team. Melo himself put up his best numbers at the time by averaging 27.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.1 assists in the 2009 playoffs, thus powering the team to the first WCF since 1985.

Anthony recalled that he was ready to take the next step in his career but needed a veteran like Chauncey Billups to help him focus on the court in a better way and he got ample guidance from the veteran. But Melo hasn’t forgotten the contribution of AI to his game.

The Dynamic Duo of Denver: Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson

 “I felt like he was the only one who understood my dynamics and what I was dealing with and what I was going through,” Melo spoke about Iverson’s impact three months ago on his podcast.

In an old interview, Iverson had also said that the best part of playing with Anthony was never dealing with the pressure of scoring. He recalled a game where he scored around 14 points, but the Nuggets won by 27 points.

“I was talking about that the other day. I had like 14 points and we won the game, in a blowout, 27 points. In Philadelphia, we were 7-49 when I scored under 15 points. That was just a good feeling,” Iverson said while talking about playing alongside Melo in an interview in 2007.

The Iverson-Anthony duo averaged 26.3 points per game and in the 2007-08 season, they ranked third and fourth respectively on the list of top scorers in the league. Carmelo Anthony’s highest-scoring regular season was in 2006-07 when Iverson joined the team for his first season.

Both AI and Billups had a significant impact as veterans on Melo and he never forgets their contribution in helping him when he was only young and emerging in the NBA.

Stay tuned for more such updates and join us for the exciting pilot episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and SEC All-Freshman Team Selection, Silas Demary Jr.