Anthony will go down as a basketball great, despite no NBA title

Let’s get the good news out of the way first.

Carmelo Anthony is going to be a Hall of Famer.

You can argue the point, focus on flaws, point to his lack of an NBA championship. But you’d be wrong. The Basketball Hall of Fame is not the NBA Hall of Fame — it’s all of basketball, and Carmelo has now placed himself in legendary circles.

He won an NCAA title in his only season at Syracuse University. With 31 points Wednesday — 31 points that Team USA really needed — he became the all-time leading scorer among U.S. Olympians, and if the United States gets the expected gold medal he will be a three-time gold medalist, also the best in Team USA history.

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And let’s be honest, his NBA career hasn’t exactly been a problem. He is a nine-time All-Star who ranks 29th all-time in scoring at 32 years old and a conservative estimate — another 4,500 points — would put him top 10 all-time.

So the problem is NBA championships. He not only has none, but has never gotten to the NBA Finals. And he isn’t exactly a favorite to get there in New York this season, even with the roster makeover.

It’s not Carmelo’s fault.

You watch him play with Team USA and see how he fits, willing to take a back seat at times and then playing the part of the superstar at other times and you wonder how he will get that last piece of the puzzle.

“I like to adjust to my situation,” Anthony told reporters in Rio after Wednesday’s win over Australia. “In this situation, it doesn’t call for me to put the team on my back and have to create something every play, and the ball is in my hands every single play.

“I can just kind of space out, take my time, pick my spots, and play off the guys that I have on my team. That’s all it’s been. It’s no different game. It’s just a matter of picking your spots and playing off your teammates.”

“’Melo initiated it to put this game away,” Olympic teammate Paul George said. “If he doesn’t make the shots that he made, we lose tonight. His shots were timely and big.

“He took it upon himself to lead us. There’s a reason why he’s been doing this for many years. He’s special and we don’t get this without him.”

Again, he doesn’t need to get the ring to prove himself worthy of a place in basketball history. But it sure would be nice.

There were rumblings of a move last year, interest from the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers in a trade — even though Anthony insisted over and over that he wasn’t waiving his no-trade clause.

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He has pledged his allegiance to New York, even if his faith in Phil Jackson wavered last year when the Knicks missed the playoffs for the third straight season.

Jackson added star talent this summer around Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis, but still nothing like the Golden State Warriors possess.

Anthony could get that chance if he went to Cleveland — although Jackson’s legacy might be squashed for good if he took back just Kevin Love — or even Boston.

Or maybe, as LeBron James hinted at last season, one day before it’s over the longtime friends — James, Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Chris Paul — will unite on one team. Maybe it will be in New York, where Anthony wants to be and James could prove himself on another stage, bringing the Knicks their first title since 1973.

Or maybe that fantasy never comes to fruition. Then we have to rely on reality and for Anthony, that’s a place with a little hole in the career achievements, but still a Hall of Fame career.