“He’s the greatest player I’ve ever seen!” These very words have become a catchphrase and echo throughout basketball history as words uttered by legends about their peers. From Magic Johnson’s praise of Larry Bird to Kobe Bryant’s respect for Michael Jordan, the NBA has seen a rich tradition of stars recognizing greatness in others. But when a three-time NBA champion singles out a player as the best from their hometown, it carries a special weight.

In the recent episode of the Come And Talk 2 Me podcast, Sam Cassell was asked to name the best player that has come out of Baltimore. The 54-year-old former point guard quickly said on the podcast, “Oh, Carmelo Anthony. Carmelo Anthony is the best player to come out of Baltimore you know what I’m saying. Everybody would say Skip Wise but Skip Wise never played on the level with that you know Reggie Williams. So Carmelo Anthony is the best player to come out of Baltimore.”

Cassell’s words carry credibility because he already had a storied career and was once so connected to Baltimore’s basketball scene. And the city has seen its fair share of NBA talent, including Muggsy Bogues, Reggie Lewis, and Cassell himself. Yet, in Cassell’s eyes, Carmelo Anthony stands above them all.

“Melo was a bad boy and knowing Melo at the age of 15 and I played my NBA season… Come home now, he’s six foot seven now, he’s six-three, he’s six-foot-seven now with guard skills and now his body is growing. He can jump, he can always shoot. Now his handle is better, his body is getting better, he is getting stronger. So yeah, by far, in my opinion, is Melo,” said Cassell during the podcast.

Talent paired with an incredible work ethic has taken Melo from the streets of Baltimore to the NBA. Straight out of Syracuse, Anthony was drafted by the Denver Nuggets third overall in the 2003 NBA Draft to be one of the league’s top scorers from the get-go. The 40-year-old had scored 28,289 points for his career in 1,260 games. Moreover, Anthony’s accolades also speak volumes: 6x All-NBA teams, 10x All-Star, and 2013 scoring champion.  Also as a freshman, the former small forward led Syracuse Orange to an NCAA championship, and played a key role in Team USA’s Olympic success, winning three gold medals.

However, Carmelo Anthony wasn’t the only star that Cassell talked about during the podcast.

The basketball superstars in Sam Cassell’s life

During the podcast, the 3x NBA champion discussed various topics and also shared his opinions on various players. However, at the very start of the segment, the 54-year-old was asked what was it like to grow up in the city of Baltimore.

Cassell shared how the city’s vibrant culture and rich basketball tradition shaped his early life and also talked about the very first basketball superstars for him. “It was um, like any other city in the east coast. Man, you know, you had the drug problems, you had the street guys doing that thing but I learned so many valuable lessons growing up in Baltimore…We didn’t have a NBA ball club, we didn’t have a major college team in the city of Baltimore, so the Dunbar Highschool Basketball team were like our superstars. They was our pro team, they was our college team,” said Cassell.

During his 15 years as an NBA player, Cassell has scored an average of 15.7 PPG and 6 APG. This performance can be credited to the inspiration that he had gotten from watching the players of Dunbar High School.

Stay tuned for more such updates and join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger.