Where can Syracuse legend Carmelo Anthony finish among the NBA’s all-time leading scorers?

Earlier this week, former Syracuse Orange forward Carmelo Anthony passed Oscar Robertson on the all-time NBA scoring list. Anthony now sits at No. 12 all-time with 26,722 points. He is not far from passing Hakeem Olajuwon, who sits at No. 11 with 26,946 points.

We all know what Carmelo Anthony did for Syracuse in 2003. He led that then Orangemen squad and brought the only title the school has ever won averaging 22.2 PPG, 10 RPG, and 2.2 APG. Anthony also shot 34% from behind the arc and 45% from the field overall. If you haven’t seen enough from that historical season of his, here’s a reminder:

After looking at the overall list, I decided to try and project where Anthony will end up on the all-time scoring list by the time he retires. Considering that I believe he will retire next year, I am going to average his stats as of right now, which is 12.5 PPG and add that up with the remaining games left this season and the games that he will play next season.

So far the Blazers have played 23 games this season. They have 49 games left in the season. They currently sit as the fifth seed in the West. If Anthony finishes out this season at his current pace and Blazers don’t make it out of the first round of the NBA Playoffs, he could score around 675 more points this season.

Projecting Anthony’s current numbers out over the course of one more season, he could score around 1,025 points in 82 games. Erring on the side of caution, we won’t project points the playoffs because we don’t know if he will be playing for a contender, or if he returns to Portland to retire there (if he decides to retire next year).

That could put Anthony around 28,422 career points, putting him at No. 9 on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. He could push for No. 8 with Shaquille O’Neal holding firm at 28.596 points, but chasing down Wilt Chamberlain might be a little ambitious at No. 7.

Here’s the current all-time list:

1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 38,387

2. Karl Malone 36,928

3. LeBron James 34,905

4. Kobe Bryant 33,643

5. Michael Jordan 32,2926

6. Dirk Nowitzki 31,560

7. Wilt Chamberlain 31,419

8. Shaquille O’Neal 28,596

9. Moses Malone 27,409

10. Elvin Hayes 27,313

11. Hakeem Olajuwon 26,946

12. Carmelo Anthony 26,722