Carmelo Anthony passes Michael Jordan on U.S. Olympic scoring list

Carmelo Anthony’s resume just got that much better.

Anthony scored 14 points and passed Michael Jordan for third on the US Olympic scoring list in the United States’ 113-69 win over Venezuela. He now trails only David Robinson and LeBron James, both of whom he should pass by the end of the Olympics. While this is impressive, Sam Amick of USA Today puts the feat in perspective:

Yet while breaking a record of any kind set by Jordan is impressive, to be sure, MJ’s unofficial status as the most dominant scorer in American Olympic history should remain unchanged.

Whereas he played in the Games twice and averaged 16 points a game, Anthony entered Rio action with a scoring average of 10.4 points a game through three appearances (James averaged 11.4 points per game and Robinson 11.3).

Despite my love for all things Carmelo and Syracuse, I can’t help but agree with him on this one. Carmelo Anthony is one of the greatest scorers in the history of basketball, but Michael Jordan is in a league of his own. While even the numbers are deceiving (had team USA really wanted to, both players could have significantly higher scoring averages), Jordan passes the eye test of seeing them both play. The fact that Carmelo is talked about in the same conversation with all-time greats like Jordan, Robinson, and James speaks to the success he’s had at the international level, and cements him as one of the greatest Olympic men’s basketball players in Team USA history.

Regardless of how you view the accomplishment, it’s awesome that one of the more famed basketball players in the history of the sport has a direct tie to Syracuse and will be statistically the most successful and best player in the history of Team USA.

As if Syracuse fans were not proud enough of Carmelo already...