LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony are set to face off for the 34th time in their intertwined NBA careers on Friday night when the Los Angeles Lakers come to visit Carmelo Anthony and the Portland Trail Blazers in an ESPN-televised affair.
As recently as a month ago, it looked like we would never get Game 34 between the No. 1 and No. 3 picks in the 2003 NBA draft. But since Anthony’s return, he’s helped spark the Trail Blazers to win four of their last five games and he won last week’s Western Conference Player of the Week award after putting up 22 points and seven rebounds per game in a 3-0 week.
The way that Anthony has performed after people “buried” him hits home for the man who cheekily dubs himself “The Washed King,” according to The Athletic’s Bill Oram and Jason Quick.
“It’s like, when people throwing stones on you and trying to bury you alive and you able to rise above that (expletive)?” James said. “That’s amazing. (expletive) kind of hit home. It’s a beautiful thing. Beautiful thing. Only the strong survive.”
Carmelo versus LeBron isn’t what it was in the earlier part of the decade but it’s still pretty incredible after all these years that they’re still going at it. As two of the three remaining members (Kyle Korver is the other) of the 2003 NBA Draft Class, it’s going to be a poignant moment for fans of basketball history no matter how the game goes. And if we get a regular season thriller between the two buddies for old time’s sake, all the better.