After carving out an illustrious NBA career defined by scoring titles, Olympic gold medals, and an undeniable legacy, Carmelo Anthony has seamlessly shifted his focus to the business world.
It's a relatively new space to him, yet something that feels all too familiar, especially when he's tapping into the hustler mentality that made him one of the greatest scorers and players in the history of the NBA.
Melo is currently hustling through many different avenues, including his show 7 PM in Brooklyn, his venture capital firm Melo7 Tech Partners, a fashion line called STAYME7O, his Creative 7 media production firm, and so much more. Much like his approach to basketball, Melo has always done things his way. However, his time on the court also taught him the value of collaboration, a lesson he’s now applying to his entrepreneurial ventures. One example is his partnership with 1800 Tequila—one of his first major brand endorsements—which highlights his ability to work as part of a team and understand the unique roles each partner plays in driving success.
Melo and 1800 Tequila are teaming up with DoorDash to deliver bottles of the brand's tasty Cristalino line right to your door for the holiday season. The festive campaign launched with an ad in which the 10-time NBA All-Star sends out several bottles of 1800 Tequila Cristalino to a list of friends. He's even launched a special 1800 Tequila New York Knicks-themed bottle, perfect for gifting the Knickerbocker fan in your life.
"Being able to sit down at the table and having great partners like those at 1800 Tequila, being able to see both sides and us be able to hear each other out and collaborate as opposed to kind of just being told what to do, it feels a lot better when you can collaborate," Melo tells Complex.
At this stage of his post-basketball career, Melo is just getting started, and he's intrigued by what's to come. The idea of getting up and going out to chase success is a testament to Melo's character, and his journey inspires anyone striving to overcome obstacles and excel against the odds.
We sat down with Melo to talk about the new 1800 Tequila campaign, being a full-time entrepreneur, the current state of the NBA, and how this new generation of basketball stars doesn't care.
Complex: What inspired you to collaborate with 1800 Tequila and DoorDash for this holiday campaign, and how does it reflect your style and values?
Melo: Well, I think, first and foremost, it was something different. This is the season where we went back to the season of gifting, right? And then, sharing in the community and, you know, bringing people into kind of the worlds, the communities, and the environments, right? So this campaign was fun.
It's also for the simple fact that we can share with somebody else. As opposed to it all just being on myself, I get a chance to reach out to my community, some friends, some athletes, and give them a gift, too. Right? And let them know that I see what you're doing and, you know, I'm sharing the same energy with you all.
Complex: How does this campaign celebrate the holiday season, and what does the spirit of the holidays mean to you personally?
Melo: Well, the holidays, as we all know, are crazy. So to, you know, be able to dumb it down and stay mellow where we can give these elevated gifts in the season of 1800 Cristalino, that's what we want to present, that style to you. We want to present the bottle to you. We want to present the whole experience and the idea of sharing and gifting.
Complex: The commercial is pretty funny. How many bottles have you sent to people already?
Melo: Oh, man, I'm still waiting on mine [laughs]. I have a list of people that, you know, get the first seven, and then we go from there. So we're still building up on that list.
Complex: You've done so much work with the company already. Where else do you see this partnership with 1800 going?
Melo: The sky is the limit, right? As long as the actual creativity is there, and I think the more that we spend more time with each other as far as both sides and me personally with the brand and understanding more of the consumers and from more of a business side, I think the sky is the limit when it comes to what we can create and what we could continue to do as you saw in the first two campaigns.
Complex: What has been your biggest challenge transitioning from an athlete to a full-time entrepreneur, and how have you navigated it?
Melo: The biggest transition is realizing that entrepreneurship is hard [laughs]. I think that's the biggest thing for me. Entrepreneurship is hard. It's fun, intense, enticing, and a lot of creativity. You're kind of going on your own, so you have a lot more ups and downs when you're dealing with entrepreneurship as opposed to just being in a situation where, you know, you have structure, and you know what's going on every single day. So that's been the hardest part, just adjusting to the role of an entrepreneur and the hustle and bustle it takes to be one.
Complex: What's the most satisfying thing about it all?
Melo: The outcome, right? The fact that you are hustling and bustling, and then you may not see it as you are hustling and bustling. You might get bogged down, you might get tired, and you might start overthinking. But seeing the outcome of your work and reap the benefits of all the hustle and bustle makes it all worth it.
Complex: As someone with a growing business portfolio, what advice would you give athletes or others looking to break into the business world?
Melo: Well, I just say take your time but also understand what field you want to get into, whatever field that is, whatever genre that is. You have to immerse yourself into that world or those worlds where you have a keen understanding of what's going on from every level.
A lot of times, it's not just about money. It's time, it's understanding, it's you putting in the groundwork. You have to lay foundations and relationships. It's taking meetings and traveling. It's a lot of things that a lot of people may want to avoid taking that route. But just understand the lane that you want to take and approach it in such a way.
Complex: What things have you taken from your basketball journey and applied to what you're doing in business?
Melo: Well, structure, team positions, team roles, right? Understanding personnel, knowing who does what, and allowing them to grow in those lanes they are strong in and not trying to force them into something they aren't, like trying to make a point guard into a shooting guard.
If you're the best point guard, I will leave you to being the best point guard. So, taking a lot of those small dynamics from sports, structure, schedule, you know? It's a bunch of things you can take from the sports world to the business world.
Complex: I want to get into basketball now. There's been a lot of chatter about the NBA receiving low ratings. Being on the business side of things now, how could the NBA improve those ratings?
Melo: They just did it by reaching that 10-year billion-dollar TV deal [laughs]. It's one of the biggest TV deals. So they figured it out, you know what I mean? It's not like they can't figure it out. It's just that everything is down. Numbers are down all across the board, but that doesn't mean it's not good or people aren't watching. People are watching it in different ways.
Only some people watch it on television. People are on their phones streaming, or people will wait until later to watch it. It's different ways of watching the actual content. So when you know that, and you know the business side of it, and you understand the numbers, and how this works, it's, like, ok, the numbers aren't down.
Complex: We just saw they're not getting rid of the iconic Inside The NBA. Is there room for Melo to become an analyst in the future?
Melo: You know, my door is open. I would probably have a different approach to it in terms of how I would like to speak the game and talk about the game creatively, what that looks like, and how that comes across. But yeah, my door is open. Active conversations are being had. So, I'm open, and it depends on what happens, and we'll see how this goes. I'm sure there's going to be a lot of content that's needed during that time.
Complex: The NBA is already a few weeks in. What's been your favorite thing about this campaign right now?
Melo: The unknown, like, you don't know what will happen, right? And it's like every night it's like you're on the edge of your seat and then the sense of like nobody is running away from the rest of the pack, I mean, you might say Boston right now, but like, you just don't know at this point of the season.
So I always loved this point of the season, even when I was playing, because you can see everybody going through it. Everybody is going through the same thing: battling injuries, trying to get right, getting healthy, and coming back to games lined up. So everybody figured it out in the first half of the games, and then after Christmas, we can have a different conversation.
Complex: Speaking of the unknown, Sixers rookie Jared McCain has been making a lot of noise since coming into the NBA. He paints his nails, and now he's been balling, but people have endless jokes about him. What are your thoughts on what he's doing so far?
Melo: That's the generation now. Like we got to fall back like it ain't our time no more, man [laughs]. This is a young man sport like this ain't our time. We can't keep laying down the iron fist when we only don't agree with something. Let them boys be themselves, man, let them do what they do and have their fun like they do it differently than we did it. We can't be mad at that. That's two totally different generations. If you got to keep painting them fingernails, man, he's still hooping.
Complex: What do you think pushes this new generation of stars to be themselves? Guys like LaMelo Ball?
Melo: I feel like they don't care; that's what it is. It's a difference. They don't care, they are fearless, you know what I mean? And they don't care what nobody say. We still were standing on something, and we still had a foundation. Like they are taking our foundation and just recreating what they want to recreate, but that's society today, right? It's all DIY today.
That's what this generation is doing. They do it for themselves, in their own way, and feel good about doing it.
Complex: Will we see you coaching these young guys on the sideline one day? You did it during the Paris Olympics, and we all know the game wouldn't be the same without Melo being involved somehow.
Melo: [Laughs] I'm not trying to walk away from the game completely. I think my focus was more on the grassroots and development in those stages. But yeah, my door is open when it comes to ownership. I do want to own a team. I would want to own an organization. That's my North Star right there.