Carmelo Anthony breaks into top 10 of NBA's all-time scorers

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Carmelo Anthony is already a 10-time NBA All-Star, three-time Olympic gold medalist, an NCAA national champion and an NBA icon.

The Portland Trail Blazers forward has cemented his legacy as one of the greatest scorers of all time too.

Entering Monday, Melo needed just 10 points to pass Elvin Hayes for the No. 10 spot on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. He did so in fitting fashion.

In the second quarter of Monday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks, Anthony hit a 3-pointer to score the 27,315th point in his illustrious 18-year career. In doing so, he passed Hayes to secure his spot in the top 10 scorers club. He was also fouled on the shot to make it even better.

Melo is now just 91 points behind Moses Malone for ninth spot on the list. It’s possible he could climb into ninth all-time at the regular season’s conclusion.

Here’s the updated top 11 on the NBA’s all-time scoring list: 

  1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387)
  2. Karl Malone (36,928)
  3. LeBron James (35,299)
  4. Kobe Bryant (33,643)
  5. Michael Jordan (32,292)
  6. Dirk Nowitzki (31,560)
  7. Wilt Chamberlain (31,419)
  8. Shaquille O’Neal (28,956)
  9. Moses Malone (27,409)
  10. Carmelo Anthony (27,318)
  11. Elvin Hayes (27,313)

After the game, the future Hall of Famer received the game ball from head coach Terry Stotts and gave a brief speech to the team.

“This moment is a little bit special than some of the other moments … Top 10 in anything all-time is a special moment. I don’t want to take this moment for granted. I understand how big this moment is. It don’t seem real because I’m actually still in it,” Anthony said.

But did Melo know that he needed just 10 points coming into Monday's game to earn the No. 10 spot?

“I knew this moment,” Melo said with a smile postgame. ‘I mean, I didn’t know the other moments. I didn’t know the 15, the 13, the 11, but 10 is something I knew. I felt it. I felt it coming into the game, it was my approach.

“I wanted the game to come to me and for it to happen naturally … I got off to a great start and that made it easier, I could exhale and I could relax knowing that I was ready for this moment.”

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