Ex-NBA Star Responds to Carmelo Anthony’s Public Declaration with Humble Response

“Arguably the best one-on-one offensive guy.” 6x All-Star Amar’e Stoudmire’s praise now seems a popular opinion for an ex-Atlanta Hawks star. The most recent one to speak something along similar lines is NBA great Carmelo Anthony. Known for his scoring proficiency himself, any praise coming from Melo holds a certain value. The player in discussion is 7x All-Star and 3x Big3 league MVP, Joe Johnson, who expressed his gratitude after Anthony’s compliments.

An X post shared by ‘Ball is Life’ featured the former NBA star responding to Melo’s recent words of praise. “I appreciate Mello for the compliment, man. I work hard on my craft, you know, to come out here and to some degree, make it look effortless,” he said.

Johnson further mentioned there is a lot of work that goes into the game. Apart from this, he also spotlighted the luxury of playing with Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, LeBron James, and Dwyane Wade team USA. “We spent, like, two months together. So when he (Melo) said that, it meant a lot,” Johnson added.

Melo had earlier termed the 7x All-Star as the most underrated 1v1 player of his era. “When I used to see him work, it was like poetry with him.” Notably, Johnson got his nickname ‘Iso Joe’ for his proficiency as an isolation scorer in the league.

This came during Johnson’s time in the Atlanta Hawks — the first team with which he averaged more than 20 ppg. Carmelo Anthony also highlighted Iso Joe’s dribbling and footwork skills. “He don’t gotta dribble, he just footwork, getting you to lean one way, he don’t take more than two, three dribbles,” he added. How did Johnson earn this respect from his peers, though?

Joe Johnson left most defenders in the dust on the court

Even though he averaged below 10 ppg in his first two seasons in the league, by his third season, Johnson was among the 10 most improved players. However, his prime form came after he landed in Atlanta in his fifth season in the league. Not only did the 7x All-Star start averaging more than 20 ppg, but his assists per game also improved.

So much so that the Hawks made their first playoff appearance since 1999 with Iso Joe’s third season on the team. Subsequently, the team made it to 5 consecutive playoffs with Johnson. While his performances started declining after leaving the Hawks, Joe still managed to close his NBA career with 20,407 points, making him one of only 51 players in NBA history to score at least 20K points.

However, a decline in the big league did not mean there was no basketball left in him. Not only did he shatter the Big3 league record with 175 points, but claimed the Big3 MVP title 3 times and the Big3 championship in 2019. So it’s clear Carmelo Anthony’s praise for the ex-Hawks star was not for nothing.

Stay tuned for more such updates. And to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the infamous Shaq-Kobe feud, Caitlin Clark’s Olympic snub, and more, watch this video.