BEIJING — Two great athletes were groomed just miles apart.
But on Wednesday, Carmelo Anthony and Michael Phelps were 6,944 miles from Baltimore when finally united — two of America’s golden hopes, two charms of Maryland’s “Charm City.”
At the Olympic Village, the basketball player and the swimmer spent their first extensive time together, talking shop and taking snapshots.
“This was my first chance to really interact with him,” said the Nuggets all-star and a Team USA starting forward. “Just a good vibe.”
Phelps, of course, is in contention to win a record eight gold medals.
Anthony is a star among all-stars on Team USA, aiming to win basketball gold for the first time since 2000.
Both hail from Baltimore, Anthony 13 months older than Phelps. Both were prodigies: Anthony leading Syracuse to an NCAA title as a freshman, Phelps participating in his first Olympics at 15. Both are a marketer’s dream, filling magazines with articles and advertisements. Both, infamously, were arrested for DUI.
Though Phelps and Anthony participated in the 2004 Games, the two never hung out in Athens. In Beijing, they have hit it off like they were back in Baltimore. Anthony said he hopes to attend one of Phelps’ races, perhaps his first on Saturday.
“If it wasn’t for him, I would never be wanting to go over there and see a swimming match,” Anthony said. “He’s going to bring some gold back to Charm City. Hopefully I can bring a gold back. We’ll have a parade together.”
For Anthony and Team USA — which opens play Sunday against China — winning gold will take a Phelps-like focus.
“In the NBA game, some guys tend to take possessions off — here, you can’t take plays off,” said Anthony, who has yet to get out of the first round of the NBA playoffs.
In tuneup games, Team USA coaches have implored Anthony to focus on rebounding. In a recent game against Australia, U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski asked Anthony to get a double-double. Melo complied, logging 12 points and 10 rebounds in just 24 minutes.
“He knows I can score,” Anthony said. “But it’s not going to take me scoring 20, 30 points for us to win basketball games — it’s going to take 10-plus rebounds. I’m going to try to get most of the rebounds — it’s going to take someone who wants to grab all the rebounds.”
