“This is it. It don’t get no better than this. It don’t get greater than this. All of those things, those accomplishments that you have mentioned, this just puts a cap on that, and it makes it all worth the while.” Carmelo Anthony spoke with pride, reflecting on his Hall of Fame induction. For years, people debated his place among the greats. But now, with this recognition and his spot on the “Redeem Team” of 2008, his legacy feels complete. This moment might finally give Melo the respect his scoring brilliance always deserved.

Excelling without securing a championship ring is tough. After all, many see it as a hallmark of true success in the sport. Take Dwyane Wade, for example, who, during a recent chat, said he doesn’t consider himself in the “30th floor”: his metaphor for true legends because he never led a team to a championship. For Wade, a ring is the golden ticket. Carmelo has everything else: Olympic golds, All-Star nods, college glory.

Still, the absence of a ring lingers. Does it bar him from the game’s top floor?

The dialogue took a lighthearted turn when Dwight Howard shared a video featuring Carmelo Anthony, where they jested about Howard’s 2020 Lakers championship. Carmelo jokingly put down Howard’s championship ring. “It’s that bubble ring, Mickey!” he jested. Dwight responded, “Yeah, it is the bubble ring. You was in the bubble, but we got a ring. That’s a fact.” They both laughed, obviously not taking the jabs to heart. Carmelo knows he’s in elite company now. “It’s a lot to laugh about when you reach Hall of Fame status,” Howard wrote in the caption of the post.

Well, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2025 is stacked. Alongside Carmelo, other legends were honored. Sue Bird, Sylvia Fowles, and Maya Moore led the way for the WNBA. Dwight got his flowers, too. Billy Donovan, Danny Crawford, and the 2008 Redeem Team joined them, making this class one of the most stacked in years. It’s not just about rings, it’s about impact! And Carmelo? He’s finally through the gate.

“I’m Satisfied”: Carmelo Anthony reflects on his greatest honor

After 20 years of leaving his mark on every level of basketball, Carmelo Anthony will stand tall at the Hall of Fame podium. “It allowed me to relax, knowing I had made it,” he told ESPN, describing his Hall of Fame induction as both validation and liberation. For a player who’s always been labeled “one of the greatest scorers without a ring,” this moment rewrote that narrative. The ring may never have come, but the respect? It’s finally in full.

“It was worth it,” he repeated, as if trying to convince his younger self. The one who once shouldered the pressure of carrying the Nuggets, saving the Knicks, and bringing glory to Team USA.

And it wasn’t just about points or accolades. Anthony spoke about closing a chapter that saw him become a 10-time All-Star, 6-time All-NBA selection, and 3-time Olympic gold medalist. His resume was already decorated, but the Hall of Fame put the final stamp on it. “This is the gates. This is the doors,” Melo said during his induction, referring to the symbolic passing into basketball immortality. “And it’s nothing that anyone can take away from me now.”

Though he officially retired in 2023, with his last NBA game coming in 2022 as a Laker, the respect he’d quietly earned over two decades was long overdue. Anthony, who ranks ninth all-time in scoring with 28,289 points, was a key member of the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team. Yet critics often measured him against championship rings instead of career impact. That’s why this moment – so unfiltered and unburdened – hit differently.

“You have to take the good, the bad, the ugly,” he said, echoing the toll of being a star in the social media era, trade drama, team rebuilds, and Olympic glory. But standing among fellow Hall of Famers like Sue Bird, Maya Moore, and Dwight Howard, Melo’s story now reads like a basketball epic with a deserving final chapter.