Melo on Facing LeBron, ‘It’s always fun going against him’

The Trail Blazers endured a litany of setbacks during Friday’s loss to the Lakers, but the contest did provide a platform for LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony to rekindle their friendly competition against each other. After Melo’s year-long absence from the NBA, the two future Hall of Fame inductees described a clear fondness for facing each other after the final whistle.

ESPN’s Dave McMenamin captured Melo’s description of facing LeBron once again.

“It was good,” Anthony said of Friday’s reunion. “It’s always fun going against him, playing against him in Year 17 for both of us. Being able to compete against one another at this level, and in now our 17th year, you can’t ask for more than that.”

LeBron echoed the same sentiments when asked about sharing the floor with Melo.

“We got so much history,” James said. “We’ve been competing for a long time, we’ve been on the same team with the Olympics and then just our brotherhood. That’s my brother, man. It’s always great to be able to compete and just be on the same floor -- period. No matter if it’s, like I said, with Team USA, when we’re teammates or just competing on our respective clubs.”

The duo comprised the outside slices of a Darko-sandwich on the night of 2003 NBA Draft. Both LeBron (No. 4) and Melo (No. 18) rank inside the top 20 of the NBA’s all-time scoring list. The Blazers and Lakers will meet again on Dec. 28 in the Moda Center.

You can read McMenamin’s full story at ESPN.