With plenty of big names being enshrined into the 2025 Basketball Hall of Fame this Saturday, Carmelo Anthony ’s speech is already shaping up to be one of the best of the weekend. Carmelo Anthony delivered a powerful ode to basketball during his speech , and he also paid tribute to his late father who passed away when Anthony was very young.

“To my father, Carmelo Iriarte, Boriqua, you left this world too soon, but you never left me. Your name is my name. Your spirit walks with me and every step I take. You were a poet, an activist, a fighter. You taught me without even knowing that words matter,” Anthony said. “Even in your absence, you gave me strength. And in silence, you gave me purpose. And though I didn’t get to grow with you, I grew cause of you.”

“You gave me the first ex

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