Fans reach out to United States’ Carmelo Anthony, right, as he enters the arena for a men’s basketball game against Australia at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016. AP
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — Carmelo Anthony is the most prolific scorer in U.S. men’s Olympic basketball history.
The first American male basketball player to appear in four Olympics, Anthony passed LeBron James on the career scoring list during Wednesday’s game against Australia. Anthony opened the game by making three 3-pointers and then moved past James, his close friend, with another 3 from the left wing with 1:08 left in the first quarter.
James, who skipped a chance to play in his fourth games after leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to an NBA title this season, scored 273 points during appearances in Athens, Beijing and London. David Robinson (270) is third on the scoring list followed by Michael Jordan (256) and Charles Barkley (231).
Anthony has played in 26 Olympic games, another U.S. record.