7PM In Brooklyn: “Story Behind The Show, NBA Cup, TikTok Dances, & More”

Carmelo Anthony speaks on telling the Knicks to draft Haliburton, LeBron’s everlasting game, and the origins of “3 to the Dome” on “7PM in Brooklyn”.

We share today’s premiere episode of “7PM in Brooklyn”, a Wave Sports + Entertainment Original, hosted by NBA legend, Carmelo Anthony, and multi-talented comedian and host, The Kid Mero.

In the episode, the duo sit down to discuss the origins of Carmelo’s famous “3 to the dome” celebration, and why Rasheed Wallace was the original mastermind behind the move — as well as stories from his early years in Denver.

Later, the guys discuss the success around the in-season tournament, and why players and coaches were initially skeptical about the new format.

Melo and Mero also share their favorite young players in the league and why LeBron James’ longevity may never be duplicated.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

• 02:45 – MERO DESCRIBES THE MOMENT HE RECEIVED THE OFFER TO DO THIS SHOW WITH CARMELO AND WAITING FOR THE RIGHT OPPORTUNITY BEFORE JUMPING BACK INTO THE MEDIA SPACE

“When I got that call [to do the show], I was ‘oh Melo? Melo wants to do it? Oh let’s get it.’ I was waiting for the right spot, you know what I mean? Because I was carrying a lot of heat coming out of Vice, Showtime, all that shit. Your next move gotta be better than your last move so I was like I’m not going to just step into some bullshit. Because I got a lot of offers – bro I got an offer to do a car show that was like a reboot of ‘Pimp My Ride’ but it was like I don’t know B, am I gonna be that dude? They was trying to get me to do it for 250 bands…to me it was like you gotta step into the right situation.”

• 08:40 – MELO CREDITS RASHEED WALLACE AS THE ORIGINATOR OF THE “3 TO THE DOME” CELEBRATION

“Big shoutout to Rasheed Wallace, that’s how we did it. Sheed was doing it one time. Boom! Sheed was like trying to knock his head off. I was like ‘Sheed, whatchu doing?!’ You concussed? So he was doing it and I was like that’s the vibe. He was the OG on the team… He was doing it once and I did it three times and Shump [Iman Shumpert] was like ‘You gotta do that. We keeping that.’ Then everybody started [following].”

• 10:28 – MELO REVEALS HE WAS PART OF THE INITIAL CONVERSATIONS TO GET THE IN-SEASON TOURNAMENT GOING

“I was part of a conversation to get it [the in-season tournament] going…they gotta present to the players like — ‘Here’s what we’re thinking about the innovation in the NBA. We need to shake things up a bit and here’s what we’re thinking…I don’t know how it transitioned because I wasn’t around it, but I know in the beginning when conversations came up around the topic or idea of an in-season tournament some guys were like ‘Nah I ain’t fucking with that. I ain’t playing in that.’ …It was just an idea [at the time].”

• 24:27 – MELO TALKS BEING CONSCIOUS ABOUT JOINING TEAMS LATE IN HIS CAREER AND HOW THE VISUAL COULD PLAY OUT DOWN THE LINE

“I was always like, you know, conscious about – I’m not doing that. I’m not going down that path. When it’s time for me to go, I’m out…So I never wanted to see myself in certain jerseys. That’s still the fan in me right? That’s how you know I really love the game and fuck with the game to know I don’t wanna see Pat [Ewing] in Orlando and Seattle. I didn’t wanna see MJ [Michael Jordan] with the Wizards…. It’s a lot. AI [Allen Iverson] in Memphis, I didn’t want to see that. AI in Detroit, I didn’t wanna see that.”

• 27:33 – MELO ON LEBRON’S DISCIPLINE AS AN ATHLETE

Mero: “…When you say disciplined what does that really look like?”

Carmelo: “I mean we are all supposed to be disciplined as athletes. It’s just a different level that only certain people know — that only certain people will to go to those heights to be successful. Kobe [Bryant] was one of those and Kobe did it his own way. Bron is one of those. Bron is one of those…It doesn’t surprise me…It’s more to it than just eating right and going to sleep at night…Every step of the way gotta be organized and structured. You always got to be thinking about different ways to be better. This man is almost 40 years old!

It ain’t just the strength, [it’s the] discipline of the psyche to know what I can play with what team and what player. What I can do with this team. Discipline comes with the mentality, discipline comes with the physical part of it. Discipline comes in all shapes and forms. And with him, he’s been doing it for so long. Right, so for somebody to say ‘I’m gonna follow that blueprint. How long are you willing to follow that blueprint? Five years? Two years? You got it in you to follow this shit for two decades? Nah.”

• 36:25 – MELO REVEALS HE TOLD THE KNICKS TO DRAFT TYRESE HALIBURTON AHEAD OF THE 2020 NBA DRAFT

Carmelo: “[Tyrese] Haliburton will be someone I always like. I was trying to get him with the Knicks years ago, saying ‘Please draft him, please!’ I wasn’t even on the Knicks but I was like y’all better draft him. Y’all need him! He’s really good man!”

Mero: “That’s crazy because you got way more juice than me and I’m just screaming at the TV like, ‘pick Haliburton! We need a point guard!’”

• 38:02 – MELO LOOKS BACK ON BEING DRAFTED BY THE DENVER NUGGETS AND BEING PERCEIVED AS A FRANCHISE-CHANGING PLAYER AT 19

Mero: “Coming off the ‘natty, hot boy, braids is poppin, lottery pick and getting the white hat in Denver…But you get there and it’s a mixed locker room…How did you navigate that at 19?”

Carmelo: “I didn’t carry it that way like ‘I got the white hat on.’ …I carried it like, yo, MC [Marcus Camby] what do we need to do, K-Mart [Kenyon Martin], Andre Miller, what do we need to do? I didn’t carry it like I’m coming in this is my shit, let’s go. Again, I know these processes, I’m a student of the game. I know I gotta prove myself. This is the league, you can’t just walk in. Everybody’s looking at you like ‘what?’ …I always want to stay away from that conversation because I don’t know how to react to that. I did everything I could to stay away from that conversation… So I was always proactive like ‘yo I know I’m a rook.’ I learned people’s tendencies, ‘I know he likes newspapers at 7:00, coffee not too cold, not too hot… I know he like Dunkin Donuts, he like Krispy Kreme…I would just be proactive.”

Mero: “That’s the thing, cuz I know if it’s me bro, I’m getting into a fight the first day in the locker room cuz it’s like ‘bro, you ain’t gonna fill my car up with popcorn and we just gonna walk away and laugh about it!’”

All-new episodes of “7PM in Brooklyn” are available each Thursday on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts!!!