From his Syracuse days, Carmelo Anthony and millionaire rapper Fat Joe shared a special bond. As part of Fat Joe’s Terror Squad, Melo played alongside the rapper in countless celebrity hoops events. One unforgettable moment was their plan to crush Jay-Z’s squad in a dream matchup. Sadly, that game never happened, but Fat Joe couldn’t get enough of Melo’s high-flying dunks. Once he was enjoying that but suddenly Melo swung at a guy during the game. And Fat Joe unwillingly got caught in the middle of the mayhem.

This story came up when Fat Joe appeared on Melo’s 7PM in Brooklyn podcast. “I am the nicest fan, when Melo punched the guy in the face the whole security went around me!” he said.

“I thought yo, Melo’s down with the Terror Squad! Fat Joe’s running in!” For Joe, it wasn’t his business to step in—he was simply caught off guard by Melo’s sudden fury. “It was a Sunday too, man. Terrible. What do you do to you to make you punch him in the face?” Joe laughed.

Melo revealed, “I got caught in somebody else’s beef.” Back then, Melo played for the Nuggets, and Knicks coach Isiah Thomas stirred the pot minutes before the incident. Thomas had advised Anthony to avoid driving into the paint—a warning dripping with tension. And soon after that, things got heated.

And Melo swung at someone (likely Marty Collins, an assistant coach). “I’m talking to Marty [Collins], like, ‘Yo, why’d you do this?’ He’s holding me back, saying something slick like, ‘Man, you ain’t gonna do nothing,’ and I’m just like, what… and I swung!”

Nuggets Coach George Karl, however, accused Thomas, claiming Isiah “directed” it. Melo, however, paid a heavy price—a 15-game suspension and a pay cut—unlike Thomas, who faced no consequences. Ironically, Denver cruised to a 123-100 win.

Still, the rapper, who once dreamed of beating LeBron’s team with Melo by his side, found himself dragged into the drama—not as a rival, but as an innocent spectator.

Fat Joe chooses Melo to defeat Jay Z and LeBron James

Back in 2003, Rucker Park was about to host the biggest game of that time. Jay-Z and Fat Joe, two hip-hop heavyweights, had taken their rivalry from music to the court. Both teams were full of NBA stars, but a massive power cut plunged the city into darkness, forcing the game’s cancellation.

Two days later, the power was back, but the game never happened. For the game, Fat Joe had Carmelo Anthony, fresh off his NCAA championship with Syracuse, and a roster stacked with legends.

There is even a documentary on it titled “The Blackout.” “We were supposed to play against Jay-Z, and then the blackout happened,” Melo shared in it.

Of course, Fat Joe knew the stakes, especially since Jay-Z had drafted LeBron James, the No. 1 pick that year. “Carmelo Anthony wanted to come because LeBron James was on Jay-Z’s team,” Fat Joe revealed. So it’s quite interesting, that Fat Joe who once picked Melo to get glory, later got into trouble because of him.