2025 Hall of Fame finalist Carmelo Anthony, who finished a prolific NBA career with the Los Angeles Lakers during an otherwise ill-fated 2021-22 season, recently weighed in on L.A.’s shiny new toy Luka Doncic during his very entertaining podcast, “7PM in Brooklyn with Carmelo Anthony & Kid Mero.”

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To hear Anthony tell it, players like the Slovenian-born Doncic, French-born San Antonio Spurs All-Star center Victor Wembanyama, Greek Milwaukee Bucks All-NBA power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Canadian All-NBA Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won’t ever emerge as the league’s true future faces because of one simple fact: they’re not American-born.

“Wemby can’t be the face of the NBA because he’s not from America,” Anthony said. “Luka can’t be the face. Giannis can’t be the face. Shai can’t be the face. Ant [Minnesota Timberwolves All-NBA shooting guard Anthony Edwards], Ja [Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies], [Boston Celtics All-NBA power forward] Jayson Tatum, these are the faces. Zion [Williamson of the New Orleans Pelicans] was supposed to be a face of this NBA.”

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Anthony enjoyed his best seasons with the Denver Nuggets and New York Knicks between 2003-17. With his athleticism slipping, he became more of a journeyman sharpshooting combo forward for contending clubs like the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Portland Trail Blazers, and (briefly) the Houston Rockets, before wrapping up his career for Los Angeles.

Across 69 games for the 33-49 Lakers during his final pro season, the 6-foot-7 Syracuse product logged averages of 13.3 points on .441/.375/.830 shooting splits, 4.2 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.8 blocks, 0.7 steals. He was one of the few bright spots of L.A.’s otherwise-lost season.

Three weeks ago, Doncic was acquired by the Lakers in a blockbuster deal that saw the club offload longtime All-NBA superstar big man Anthony Davis, rising 3-and-D wing Max Christie, and a 2029 first-round draft pick to the Dallas Mavericks (L.A. also shipped out point guard Jalen Hood-Schifino and a second-rounder to the Utah Jazz).

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