Image via Complex Original
It may be hard to believe, but Carmelo Anthony turns the big 3-0 today. After all, it seems like it was just yesterday when Melo was still rocking cornrows and helping lead the Syracuse Orange to their first NCAA Basketball title. However, after 10 years in the NBA, Anthony is a seasoned veteran now with seven All-Star selections, a scoring title, and possibly a new place to call home this summer. But on this momentous occasion, let's put all that speculative talk on the backburner and take a look at some of the tidbits about his life that you may've never heard before.
Oh, what's that? You're already well-versed in everything there is to know about the bully? So, you're familiar with his apparent bout with ailurophobia aka fear of cats? And you can name the one musician he listens to every single day? Well, get familiar and take a look at the 20 Things You Didn't Know About Carmelo Anthony.
DJ Clue is responsible for getting Carmelo and LaLa together.
DJ Clue put a lot of people on. He was instrumental to Fabolous' and Joe Budden's careers and he was also instrumental in bringing LaLa and Melo together. Anthony kept pressing the legendary DJ to introduce him to his soon-to-be-wife, and after about a month of friendship they decided to go together.
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He's afraid of cats.
Not just big cats such as lions and tigers that are born to kill, but Carmelo's fears extend to the everyday household cat. The only thing left to wonder is what caused his fear of cats. Cat's aren't the friendliest creatures, they kind of just sit and stare at you without any emotions. You know what? Cats are pretty weird.
He's text buddies with Michael Jordan.
Phil Jackson should find his way onto Carmelo's "Framily Plan" with Jordan, to keep him from leaving New York this summer.
Even though he has a personal relationship with Michael Jordan, he didn't attend Carmelo's wedding.
LeBron James, Spike Lee, Chris Paul, and others attended Carmelo's wedding, but His Airness was absent. Carmelo's response to the no show? "He was supposed to come but you know, it's Jordan."
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He won the 2002 High School All-American Slam Dunk Contest.
Wait, what? It's true, we have footage. Can you believe he won with those weak ass dunks? He beat out the likes of Raymond Felton, Rashad McCants, Hassan Adams, Chris Bosh, Michael Thompson, and Amar'e Stoudemire.
He appeared on QVC to sell iPod docks.
The hustle never stopped, even after his NBA career took off.
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G.I. Joe was his favorite TV show as a child.
Finally, an explanation for that "military-style" outfit that Carmelo wore in 2013.
He has his own sandwich at New York's famous Carnegie Deli.
The Melo Sandwich might be responsible for Raymond Felton's weight. Besides being packed with pastrami, corned beef, salami, bacon, tomato, and Russian dressing on rye bread, it also carries a $21.95 price tag.
If Carnegie Deli sells around 3,000,000 of them, it will equal to Carmelo's $65 million dollar contract.
He started a high-end watch and luxury lifestyle magazine called Haute Life.
Carmelo's fashion sense has improved since wearing a white headband to meet the POTUS after winning a National Championship with Syracuse. Besides upping his dress game, Carmelo also started a high-end watch and luxury lifestyle magazine called Haute Life, which launched in 2013.
His favorite players are Michael Jordan, Bernard King, and Dr. J.
Who's favorite player wasn't Jordan or Dr. J growing up in the '80s and '90s? But the Bernard King reference foreshawed Melo's inevitable future with the Knicks and even King himself has said that he see's a lot of his game in Carmelo's.
Carmelo's 33-point outburst against Texas in the Final Four set an NCAA tournament record for most points by a freshman.
Melo's 33-point performance in the Final Four was just setting the bar. Anthony has amassed 262 games of scoring 30-plus points in his NBA career.
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He was cut from his high school team as a freshman.
Similar to Michael Jordan, Anthony was cut from his high school team as a freshman. Carmelo might not have the accolades as Mike, but eclipsing the 20,000 point mark next season won't be bad. Anthony sprouted five inches during his sophomore season and committed to Syracuse before the end of his junior year.
He can't palm a basketball.
Melo stands at 6'8", 230 lbs, but doesn't possess the ability to palm a basketball. The Reign Man, Shawn Kemp, also couldn't palm the basketball proving that size isn't everything.
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He had a batting cage, a recording studio, and a 10-seat theatre in his Denver mansion.
Melo bought the house for $12 million, listed it at $9.5 million, and sold it for $6.2 million when he requested to be traded.
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He bought a pet camel.
Since he's admitted to being afraid of cats, Carmelo couldn't have an ordinary household animal. So, he went out and bought a camel. Who knew that camels could even be purchased?
He got a scar above his left eyebrow when he was four after falling off a speaker he climbed to look through a window and watch his older brother play basketball.
The things Carmelo Anthony would do to watch the sport he loved. He was giving blood, sweat, and tears to the sport before he ever picked up a ball.
He listens to Willie Colon every day.
Although he hated Spanish music when he was younger, it's all he plays in his house. When he was a kid his aunt would play Willie Colon all day and it drove him crazy.
His father died of liver failure when Melo was two.
Losing his father at such an early age drove Melo to embark on making a documentary of the late Iriarte entitled Looking for a Lord.
His father, Carmelo Iriarte, was a member of the Young Lords.
While researching his late father's background, Anthony discovered that the elder Melo was a member of the Puerto Rican militant group called the Young Lords. They originated from a Chicago street gang and evolved into Puerto Rican nationalists that brought awareness to issues affecting New York City ghettos.
The Baltimore neighborhood he grew up in was called the Pharmacy.
Baltimore and its drug trade are forever immortalized in HBO's The Wire. Luckily for us and Melo, his jump shot was wicked enough to dodge the pitfalls many minorities face in America's ghettos.