“My life was impacted by more than 1 person. I need 3.” This is what Carmelo Anthony said right after he was named to the 2025 class of the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame. And one of those three presenters on Melo’s list was Michael Jordan. But that glorious moment, which got fans so hyped up, is not going to happen this time around.

Carmelo Anthony had three people he wanted with him on his big night at Springfield, Massachusetts. His ‘Redeem Team’ teammate, Dwyane Wade; his Denver Nuggets teammate, Allen Iverson; and his mentor and Jordan Brand boss, Michael Jordan. He lucked out with two out of three. Allen Iverson of the 2016 class and Dwyane Wade, who was inducted in 2023, are officially inducting Melo in September. Wade is already excited. During a promotional event for his new perfume with Aramis, Intuition, he responded to the announcement with an all-encompassing, “Honored!” on his Stories.

Fans, though, are a little disappointed for Melo and Dwight Howard (who will not have Shaq presenting as he hoped). Over a month ago, Wade himself was overwhelmed that Melo put him in the same realm as His Airness.

“I found out he came out and said MJ,” Wade said on the Time Out podcast over a month ago. “He’s been with Jordan brand since day one, that makes all the sense in the world. He talked about AI, of course. AI is somebody who we all admire.” Wade hit the nail on the head. It would be epic if MJ were going to be present. But some dreams just don’t work out.

The significance of Michael Jordan for Melo’s big night

The Hall of Fame’s enshrinement process is never as clear as the voting rules. Some of the Hall of Fame rules are vague to us regular folks. Like, the rule is/was that NBA players had to be retired for four full seasons before they got nominated. Dwight Howard never actually retired, and Carmelo Anthony officially hung up his boots in 2023.

That’s why it’s not clear if they got final say on their presenters, if their presenters themselves refused, or if this was a committee decision. Shaq’s getting most of the heat with fans assuming he secretly rejected the invite despite publicly agreeing to Dwight’s request. Not many are talking about Michael Jordan, but they question if he turned it down, too. Most feel a little disappointed for Melo.

“I was inspired by MJ,” Anthony explained to Paul George back in May. “Not only from a basketball standpoint… as a Hall of Famer, seeing something in me as an 18-, 19-year-old kid, saying ‘One day he can be a Hall of Famer.’ That’s major. So I gotta have him.”

Carmelo Anthony had been on Nike’s radar since he was in high school. As soon as he entered the NBA, the Jordan Brand signed him as the first signature athlete of the jumpman and released 13 signature designs. The perks of being under the Jordan Brand were having the GOAT himself mentor him. Though there are no more new Melo kicks, Anthony remains with the Jordan Brand. He even attended the star-studded summit MJ hosted in Greece.

It was also a rare moment of seeing Jordan’s personality in public. He paid tribute to Kobe Bryant posthumously in 2021, where we saw one of his rare emotional sides. The expectations of seeing MJ similarly talk about what he saw in a young Melo were in the stratosphere. It’s a shame we won’t be getting that. But we know AI and D-Wade will more than make up for it.