Carmelo Anthony Shines Coming Off the Bench
Issue #151 - Despite his delayed transition into becoming a sports media personality, Carmelo Anthony seems very comfortable in his new role.
Carmelo Anthony Shines Coming Off the Bench
Better late than never goes the adage. This is especially applicable to NBA legend Carmelo Anthony, whose transition from a player to a sports media personality seems to have taken longer than that of many of his former NBA teammates and peers.
Anthony, an NBA Hall of Famer, is currently an NBA studio analyst for NBC Sports and hosts a sports and culture podcast, 7PM in Brooklyn, alongside co-hosts The Kid Mero and Kazeem Famuyide and rotating co-hosts Rudy Gay and Monica McNutt.
The podcast, which debuted in 2023, served as his launching pad into his media career, one which he says “was not in the cards,” but offered him the opportunity to find his voice and how he would fit “into this whole ecosystem.”
7PM’s casual format, led by Anthony’s engaging delivery and his many interesting basketball and life stories, has helped the podcast attract big names from sports, entertainment, and culture. This has resulted in the podcast having an aggregate rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars among major podcasts, according to data from Podnews, and 514,000 YouTube subscribers, with 130 million total views.
This success made Anthony an easy target for NBC Sports, which was looking to build out a studio team for its NBA on NBC coverage, which debuted at the start of the 2025-26 season after NBCUniversal secured an 11-year agreement for NBA rights.
“As a Hall of Famer, a college national champion, and one of the most decorated basketball Olympians ever, Carmelo will bring a superstar perspective to our studio coverage,” said Sam Flood, executive producer, NBC Sports, in May 2025 when announcing Anthony’s addition to the NBC Sports family.
Anthony just completed his first NBA All-Star Weekend hosting duties, as he was part of NBC Sports' pre-game as well as in-game studio analysts alongside Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady during Sunday’s 75th NBA All-Star Game. While in Southern California, he also recorded a special live episode of the 7PM in Brooklyn podcast, featuring recently retired NBA point guard Chris Paul.
Coverage Notes caught up with Anthony in early January during NBC Sports’ Legendary February presentation, encompassing the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, Super Bowl LX, and the NBA All-Star Game. The event was held at the iconic Studio 8H, home of Saturday Night Live at 30 Rockefeller Plaza.
Here is Anthony talking about his transition into becoming a sports media personality.
It seems like you stumbled into being a media personality years after you left the NBA. Where was all of this talent hiding?
Not in the cards. It wasn't in the cards. But I would tell you that once I opened my mind and opened the door into the idea of doing it, I wanted to start with 7PM (in Brooklyn) first. Just to get my feet wet and get reps, but also try to understand what's my message and how I fit into this whole ecosystem. Then from that, I started getting more comfortable and just finding my mix and just finding, okay, ‘it's cool just being yourself, it's cool being authentic, it's cool, you know, giving people flowers.’
That led me to having an opportunity to work for NBC. Now I can really get behind the game, really tell the game, be closer to the game, be inside the game, tell these stories (of) what these athletes are really going through and dealing with.
What's the one thing that you notice in being on the media side that you had no clue about when you were playing in the league?
Everybody's perspective. You know, I think everybody's perspective on this side, and I would like to say we have a great group of guys, a great team, along with Maria Taylor, where we actually watch the game. We sit down, and we talk about the game as it’s happening.
So by the time we get on air, it's a continuation of what we've been doing. Building that camaraderie, building a new team, is what's exciting on this side.
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A MarkHenry Media LLC publication - Issue #151 - 2026