Carmelo Anthony vs. LaMelo Ball Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of LaMelo Ball and Carmelo Anthony, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season / Scoring / Stats / Stats Rankings / Games against each other

Who had the better rookie season? Who had best stats in their 10th season? Who won a championship first? These questions and many others, are answered here.

Carmelo Anthony played 19 years in the NBA, 14 more than LaMelo Ball, who played 5. Carmelo Anthony had the first of his seasons in 2003-04, while LaMelo Ball had his rookie season in 2020-21. With that starting point, here you can take a look at each of their seasons side by side and compare how their careers evolved in achievements, awards and championships won, the stats they recorded both in the Regular Season and the Playoffs and how their teams performed in the postseason.

Their Careers

Player
Total Seasons Playoffs Played NBA Years
Carmelo Anthony 19 13 2003-04 to 2021-22
LaMelo Ball 5 0 2020-21 to 2024-25

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:

1-2-3-4-5

Rookie Season

Carmelo Anthony LaMelo Ball
Season 2003-042020-21
Team Denver NuggetsCharlotte Hornets
Honors & Awards -Achievement Rookie of the Year
Achievement All-Rookie First TeamAchievement All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st RdDid Not Play
more >>
Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Carmelo Anthony 82 36.5 21.0 2.2 3.8 6.1 2.8 1.2 0.5 3.0 2.7 7.6 17.9 .426 0.8 2.6 .322 5.0 6.4 .777
difference:+31+7.7+5.3+1.0+0.9+0.2+3.3+0.4+0.1-0.2+1.9+4.7+.010+1.0+2.5+.030+2.5+3.2+.019
LaMelo Ball 51 28.8 15.7 1.2 4.7 5.9 6.1 1.6 0.4 2.8 2.7 5.7 13.2 .436 1.8 5.1 .352 2.5 3.2 .758
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Carmelo Anthony 4 36.3 15.0 1.8 6.5 8.3 2.8 1.3 0.0 4.3 2.8 5.3 16.0 .328 0.5 2.8 .182 4.0 5.0 .800
LaMelo Ball DNP------ --- ----------

Season 2

Carmelo Anthony LaMelo Ball
Season 2004-052021-22
Team Denver NuggetsCharlotte Hornets
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st RdDid Not Play
more >>
2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Carmelo Anthony 75 34.8 20.8 1.9 3.8 5.7 2.6 0.9 0.4 3.0 3.1 7.1 16.4 .431 0.6 2.1 .266 6.1 7.6 .796
difference:+2.5+0.7+0.5+1.4+1.0+5.0+0.7-0.3-0.1+0.1+0.3+.002+2.3+5.4+.123+3.3+4.4+.076
LaMelo Ball 75 32.3 20.1 1.4 5.2 6.7 7.6 1.6 0.4 3.3 3.2 7.2 16.7 .429 2.9 7.5 .389 2.8 3.2 .872
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Carmelo Anthony 5 36.2 19.2 2.8 2.6 5.4 2.0 0.6 0.2 2.6 4.0 7.0 16.6 .422 0.0 0.2 .000 5.2 6.4 .813
LaMelo Ball DNP------ --- ----------

Season 3

Carmelo Anthony LaMelo Ball
Season 2005-062022-23
Team Denver NuggetsCharlotte Hornets
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Third Team-
Playoffs Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st RdDid Not Play
more >>
3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Carmelo Anthony 80 36.8 26.5 1.5 3.4 4.9 2.7 1.1 0.5 2.7 2.9 9.5 19.7 .481 0.5 1.9 .243 7.2 8.9 .808
difference:+44+1.6+3.2+0.3+1.9+1.5+5.7+0.2+0.2-0.9-0.4+1.3+0.3+.070+3.5+8.7+.133+4.4+5.5+.028
LaMelo Ball 36 35.2 23.3 1.2 5.3 6.4 8.4 1.3 0.3 3.6 3.3 8.2 20.0 .411 4.0 10.6 .376 2.8 3.4 .836
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Carmelo Anthony 5 38.6 21.0 2.4 4.2 6.6 2.8 0.8 0.2 3.0 4.0 6.6 19.8 .333 0.0 0.8 .000 7.8 10.4 .750
LaMelo Ball DNP------ --- ----------

Season 4

Carmelo Anthony LaMelo Ball
Season 2006-072023-24
Team Denver NuggetsCharlotte Hornets
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Third Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st RdDid Not Play
more >>
4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Carmelo Anthony 65 38.2 28.9 2.2 3.8 6.0 3.8 1.2 0.4 3.6 3.1 10.6 22.4 .476 0.6 2.3 .268 7.1 8.7 .808
difference:+43+5.9+5.0+0.9+0.9+4.2+0.6+0.2-0.2-0.5+2.3+3.2+.043+2.6+6.7+.087+3.0+4.0+.057
LaMelo Ball 22 32.3 23.9 1.3 3.8 5.1 8.0 1.8 0.2 3.8 3.6 8.3 19.2 .433 3.2 9.0 .355 4.1 4.7 .865
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Carmelo Anthony 5 42.0 26.8 3.6 5.0 8.6 1.2 1.0 0.0 3.8 2.4 9.4 19.6 .480 1.8 3.6 .500 6.2 7.8 .795
LaMelo Ball DNP------ --- ----------

Season 5

Carmelo Anthony LaMelo Ball
Season 2007-082024-25
Team Denver NuggetsCharlotte Hornets
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st RdDid Not Play
more >>
5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Carmelo Anthony 77 36.4 25.7 2.3 5.1 7.4 3.4 1.3 0.5 3.3 3.3 9.5 19.2 .492 0.8 2.1 .354 6.0 7.7 .786
difference:+30+4.4+0.5+1.3+1.2+2.5+4.0+0.2+0.2-0.3+0.9+2.1+.087+3.0+9.1+.015+1.9+2.8+.057
LaMelo Ball 47 32.0 25.2 1.0 3.9 4.9 7.4 1.1 0.3 3.6 3.3 8.6 21.3 .405 3.8 11.2 .339 4.1 4.9 .843
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Carmelo Anthony 4 36.5 22.5 4.8 4.8 9.5 2.0 0.5 0.3 3.0 4.3 8.0 22.0 .364 0.5 2.0 .250 6.0 7.3 .828
LaMelo Ball DNP------ --- ----------

Additional Years

* Carmelo Anthony played 14 seasons more than LaMelo Ball in the NBA.

In that period—his seasons 6 to 19, from 2009 to 2022—Carmelo Anthony played in 8 Playoffs.

In those 14 extra years over LaMelo Ball, Carmelo Anthony got these achievements:

Honors & AwardsAchievement 2 All-NBA Second Team
Achievement 2 All-NBA Third Team
Achievement 1 Scoring Leader
Achievement 8 All-Star Game