54.2
After leading Syracuse to the NCAA national championship as a freshman, Carmelo entered the 2003 NBA Draft, was selected by the Denver Nuggets with the No. 3 overall pick and began getting buckets from day one.
Anthony led all rookies in scoring in 2003-04 at 21.0 points per game, narrowly edging out Rookie of the Year winner LeBron James (20.9 ppg) in a star-studded class that also featured Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in the top five selections.
Carmelo made an instant impact with the Nuggets, who went from 17-65 and 29
th in the league in scoring in 2002-03 to 43-39 and fifth in scoring in Anthony’s rookie season. He spent the first seven-and-a-half seasons of his career in Nuggets blue and yellow and made the playoffs every season.