Carmelo Anthony Recalls 2004 Olympics Pact With LeBron James to Destroy Richard Jefferson and Shawn Marion

During the 2004 Olympics, forwards Shawn Marion and Richard Jefferson were ahead in the rotation over then-youngsters LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony.

While the talent gap may have been closer back then, James and Anthony were having no part of it. In a video interview via Uninterrupted, Anthony recalled when he and James made it their mission to destroy Marion and Jefferson in practice.

“When we made that pact it was just like, ‘What? They’re playing in front of us? Really?’” Anthony recollected. “That was me and Bron’s mentality. But then, we used to go to practice, and in practice that was our games. We used to huddle up before practice and be like, ‘Yo listen. Let’s go to war. Like we want the smoke today. If they ain’t ready to play today, it’s on.’”

Anthony and James both came out of the star-studded 2003 NBA Draft.

Although the geneses of their professional careers started off similarly, their paths have looked very different since.

James, 35, is a three-time NBA champion. Although the veteran has a ton of mileage, he is spearheading an ambitious championship pursuit for the Los Angeles Lakers this season.

Anthony, on the other hand, struggled to make it on an NBA roster this season. The Portland Trail Blazers forward is playing behind stars Damain Lillard and C.J. McCollum. Yet, the Blazers are out of the playoff picture.

While Anthony has yet to win an NBA championship, he is one of the greatest players in U.S. men’s basketball history. As a matter of fact, he is the only three-time Olympic gold medalist in men’s basketball history.

Clearly, the prolific sharpshooter proved himself in those intense practices back in 2004.