Carmelo Anthony lists why universe guided him to wear No. 00 with Blazers
Carmelo Anthony is officially on the Portland Trail Blazers roster after his signing was announced by the team Tuesday, and now his new jersey number is drawing more attention.
Anthony will wear No. 00 for his 17th season in the league. He explained the choice in an Instagram post by first referencing the infinity symbol and in the comments noting his combined numbers are 007.
“Can never be given an exact value” is a good reason, albeit intriguing given his career. “Without end” and “process that never stops” is certainly fitting.
It could be any of those. Or it could be a more traditional reason, as Michael Lee of The Athletic describes.
Carmelo Anthony will wear No. 00 for POR because No. 7 is being held in honor of Brandon Roy; No. 15 (his Denver/Syracuse #) is retired for Larry Steele & No. 22 (Oak Hill #) is retired for HOFer Clyde Drexler. Wish he'd gone with 25, to bring them all together. Stay Mel00
— Michael Lee (@MrMichaelLee) November 19, 2019
Anthony, 35, signed a one-year, non-guaranteed deal Tuesday for a reported $2.15 million. He’ll receive all of it if he stays on the roster past the January guaranteed date, per Shams Charania of The Athletic.
"Carmelo is an established star in this league that will provide a respected presence in our locker room and a skill set at a position of need on the floor," Blazers president Neil Olshey said.
The 10-time all-star who led the league in scoring in 2012-13 described in a YouTube video Monday how he joined the Blazers and the different approach he’ll take. Analysts have voiced their concern that Portland will have too many ball handlers and Anthony won’t like his role off the bench, which has been a problem before. He ranks fourth all-time in career points per game of players with at least 200 games, and is second in active players behind LeBron James.
The Trail Blazers (5-9) play the New Orleans Pelicans (4-9) on the road Tuesday night.
More from Yahoo Sports: