New York Knicks: Carmelo Anthony Reaches Historic Scoring Mark

New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony continued to pad his Hall of Fame resume on Friday, December 9 by achieving a measure of history as a scorer.

NBA fans can’t agree on much, especially when Carmelo Anthony and the New York Knicks are the topic of conversation. One of the few topics that’s universally agreed upon is that Anthony is one of the greatest scorers of all-time.

On Friday, December 9, Anthony further solidified that legendary status.

Anthony is currently No. 29 on the all-time scoring list and is closing in on Elgin Baylor at No. 28. His status as an all-time scorer was achieved long ago, but it’s his recent accolade that will strengthen his status.

Following his 23-point eruption in the first half of the Knicks’ road game against the Sacramento Kings, Anthony became the fifth active player to reach 23,000 career points.

After recording 23 PTS in the first half vs the Kings, @carmeloanthony becomes just the fifth active @NBA player with 23,000+ career points. pic.twitter.com/CmKVRJvIab

— NBA TV (@NBATV) December 10, 2016

That’s an incredible distinction for a future Hall of Famer.

The only other active players with at least 23,000 career points are Dirk Nowitzki, LeBron James, Paul Pierce, and Vince Carter. Nowitzki has 29,552 career points, James has 27,315, Pierce checks in at 26,341, and Carter has 24,136.

To be mentioned in the same breath as those four future Hall of Famers is enough to establish how great he is.

Overall, Anthony is the 29th player to reach 23,000 career points. At 32 years of age, there’s a strong possibility that he’ll continued to ascend that list and eclipse the 25,000-point plateau as soon as 2017-18.

From there, Anthony could have an outside shot at 30,000 career points if health permits—a big if, but a realistic possibility given his style and approach to the game.

Only five players in NBA history have scored at least 30,000 career points. Those players are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, and Wilt Chamberlain.

These are all hypotheticals at this current juncture, but what’s known for sure is that Anthony has eclipsed 23,000 points.

A Hall of Fame career continues with another legendary feat.