Carmelo Anthony - Where Tomorrows Arent Promised: A Memoir of Survival and Hope

Carmelo Anthony

With D. Watkins

Where Tomorrows Arent Promised

A Memoir of Survival and Hope

Gallery Books

An Imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

1230 Avenue of the Americas

New York, NY 10020

www.SimonandSchuster.com

Copyright 2021 by Carmelo Anthony

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information, address Gallery Books Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

First Gallery Books hardcover edition September 2021

GALLERY BOOKS and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-866-506-1949 or .

The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event, contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com.

Interior design by Erika R. Genova

Jacket design by Kelli McAdams

Front jacket photograph of Baltimore scene Devin Allen Photography

Front jacket portrait of Carmelo Anthony Kareem Black/Devin Day Reps

Author photograph Doug Segars

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Anthony, Carmelo, 1984 author. | Watkins, D. (Dwight) other.

Title: Where tomorrows arent promised : a memoir / Carmelo Anthony with D. Watkins.

Description: New York, N.Y. : Gallery Books, 2021. | Summary: From iconic NBA All-Star Carmelo Anthony comes a raw and inspirational memoir about growing up in the housing projects of Red Hook and Baltimorea brutal world Where Tomorrows Arent PromisedProvided by publisher.

Identifiers: LCCN 2021019923 (print) | LCCN 2021019924 (ebook) | ISBN 9781982160593 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781982160609 (trade paperback) | ISBN 9781982160616 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Anthony, Carmelo, 1984 | Basketball playersUnited StatesBiography

Classification: LCC GV884.A58 A3 2021 (print) | LCC GV884.A58 (ebook) | DDC 796.323092 [B]dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021019923

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021019924

ISBN 978-1-9821-6059-3

ISBN 978-1-9821-6061-6 (ebook)

To every child who knows there is more to this life than what people tell them is possible

Some names in this book have been changed, and certain quotes have been reconstructed from memory.

D raft Night 2003: Flashing lights and the sounds of cameras clicking everywhere. The room was becoming more crowded. I moved to a different room, and the crowd followed as more people entered the venue. Everybody looked nervous but happy. Many of us would be experiencing meteoric social mobility, escaping a lifetime of poverty in a single night.

Carmeloover here, over here! Look this way, this way! a group of photographers called out. From every non-ballplayer in the room, toting microphones and cameras, Id heard over and over, again and again, This is your big night. All the talking heads from ESPN, the same people Id been watching for I dont know how long, were here in real life. They were pointing more microphones at me, at LeBron James, at Dwyane Wade, and at all of these other lanky prospects in tailored suits. How did I get here?

What do you think is going to happen tonight? interviewers asked me. Where do you predict you will end up? Are you excited?

Am I excited? Im a Black kid from the bottom. I had to fight through some of the roughest housing projects in America. Im standing here tonight as a potential top five, top three, maybe even top two NBA draft pick. Am I excited? I wished the cameras, reporters, and talking heads would just go away for a minute until I could regain my cool. It felt like my heart was making a fast break out of my suit.

I was excited, but I was also anxious and curious about what my new life was about to be. My mom had worked two jobs for as long as I could remember. Now I would be able take care of her, buy her a house, a car, a minkwhatever she wantedand that was exciting. At the same time, I had mixed feelings, because my life had contained so many letdowns, bad endings, and traumas. I knew I had an agent, and Id led the Syracuse Orange to their first-ever NCAA championship. I knew Id won the Most Outstanding Player award. I was at the draft because I was invited and projected to go high. I was in this suit; however, none of these things guaranteed that these people were going to select me.

I would probably have been even more nervous and uncertainexcept that my big brother Jus was there, and my big brother Wolf, and they always had my back. Regardless of what happened that night, I knew they would be there for me. I glanced over at them and looked at their feet. They were both were wearing slippery hard-bottoms, probably feeling as awkward as I did, because we never really wore suits. I bet that most of the athletes at this fancy event never wore suits, even though they were the reason for the events existence.

My mom was theremy rock, the strongest woman I knowalong with my heart, my big sister Michelle. When Im anxious, their support and love settle me. If I could be in a position to give them everything they deserve, this whole journey would be worth it. I could be drafted by a team on Mars, and if my mom and Michelle agreed to come with me, then Id go gladly. Id know that everything was going to be okay. A lot of other families were in the room, and I imagined that the love I had for mine mirrored the love they shared. They probably waited their whole lives to celebrate this moment with family. I wondered if they felt like they belonged, or were they also haunted by old wounds?

Most basketball players dream of this night their whole livespicking out their suits, memorizing their speeches, hoping and praying they didnt forget anyone. As kids, they probably rehearsed this moment by putting on little sport coats and the ball caps of their favorite teams, strutting across their living-room carpets, and pretending to shake hands with David Stern. They had it all mapped out, because the NBA was the goal, and every guy here made it happen. Dream fulfilled. The lights continued to flash, and the night progressed. LeBron was excited, Wade was excited. I was even excited for them, as well as for everybody at the Garden that night living their dreams. They were probably equally excited for me, thinking that I had achieved my dream, too. But whats funny is that the NBA wasnt my dream.

Im not like most basketball players. I never obsessed over this day, this suit, or this moment of shaking David Sterns hand. Dont get me wrong, I was beyond grateful for these things. But until it actually happened, I just couldnt see it. Im not sure if I didnt want to jinx myself or I thought it was too unreal, or if it was because for me, all of this top-player stuff just happened so fast. I just know I never thought about it. I never allowed myself to be lost in a dream that could be easily snatched away. So the appropriate question for me wasnt whether or not I was excited. The real question was, how did Ia kid whod had so many hopes, dreams, and expectations beaten out of himmake it here at all?