Michael Beasley has certainly caught a rare momentum surge that we don’t often see from former professional players. He came out on top in his challenge against fellow ex-NBA star Lance Stephenson in a 1-on-1 showdown. Post this, he doubled down on beating anybody and everybody under the sun in any one-on-one challenge. That list even had Carmelo Anthony as one of the potential matchups, who responded to the challenge. And now that response means we have another reaction from Beasley.

To those unaware, the first battle against Stephenson not only earned him eyeballs, but he went home $100,000 richer. The 36-year-old then came out on top in the Big3 season opener against Dwight Howard and stood as the highest scorer on the day with 21 points. During one of his practice sessions for Big3, Beasley also did a live stream with trending influencers, N3on and Adin Ross. The latter stated that Melo was his favorite player, and Beasley immediately responded, “I’ll bust his a–.” This led Melo to respond to the potential challenge.

On his podcast with Iman Shumpert as the guest, Carmelo Anthony added, “Let me clear this up… I’m not losing a one-on-one game, bro. I’m not. I’ve never lost a one-on-one game.” If you think this was a clap back towards Beasley, then you are wrong. The Knicks legend has no interest in lacing his boots for any type of challenge, but that won’t mean he can’t defend his legacy. “What I’m saying is I  did this one— I got ridiculed for doing this at the highest level, for being a one-on-one n—-.”

Throughout his career, Melo used his ISO skills to score and dominate any opponent. Seeing the respectful reply from the Syracuse legend, even Beasley cooled down on the potential matchup. In his latest interview, the current Big3 star simply stated, “I didn’t call out anybody, but I told you I beat anybody. I don’t call out anybody; they come knocking on my door.” Further adding his reaction to Melo’s statement, “Big bro spoke. You understand? Gotcha. All weapons done.”

Former Players support Carmelo Anthony’s claims of being the best 1v1 player

Even though Carmelo Anthony did not win any NBA championships, he was still named in the NBA 75th Anniversary Team. Plus, after 19 seasons, his average of 22.5 points per game truly speaks about his scoring ability. But this also led to a lot of criticism, especially during his time at the Knicks, as he was called selfish by fans and experts alike. However, that didn’t deter him from going ahead and scoring bucket-load of points.

Former stars like Gilbert Arenas even claimed Melo was a better all-around shooter than Kevin Durant. “Melo posted up and iso player. When it comes to who is the most complete scorer? I’m gonna say Melo.” Not just him, even a former teammate of Melo agreed. Kenyon Martin called him “one of the best scorers that this game so far has seen.” Both shared the locker room during the Nuggets days, and he claimed that Melo wouldn’t take the practice sessions lightly.

So it’s not only Carmelo Anthony who believes in his abilities, but even former players do. That’s why his response to Beasley was not immediate on any social media platform. The measured response came on his podcast, which even Beasley understood. Even he is not bothered by the response as he looks to continue the momentum in the Big3 league.